21.004 BF254 – Laburnum Leaf-miner – Leucoptera laburnella – (Stainton, 1851)
Adult Micro: CAT 2 – Can be confused with other species – Leaf-miner: CAT L – The leaf or a Photo required – 
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– Rare / Uncommon / Scarce 
– Leaf-miner
– easy to identify, generally distinctive and unlikely to be confused with other species.ID pointers: A small white attractive moth. Delicately marked with yellow/ochreous scales only towards the costa
Distribution: (Last record: 5 July 2025 at Darwin Forest ) – Likely to be locally uncommon. Where there are Laburnum trees
General Comment: None Mine Period Additional: The larva mines the leaves of laburnum, including hybrids, and occasionally dyer’s greenweed (Genista tinctoria). The mine is initially a brown spot, turning via a green frass-filled gallery into a pale blotch with a spiral of black frass.
Mine ID Difficulty: Not Recorded
Mine Type/s: Not Recorded
Mine Feeding Method/s: Not Recorded
Mine Comment: None.
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Last Recorded Year: 2025
Last Recorded By – Dave Evans
Last Recorded General Area – Darwin Forest
Selected Images:
Buxton (leaf mine) Jon Morton©; Belper (2022) Dave Evans©
Image Gallery
Temporal Distribution Chart
Adults: (between 1997 - 2025) | Immatures: (between 2001 - 2025)
(click legend below to show/hide datasets)
Distribution Map for Leucoptera laburnella
Found 10 records
↳ from 2026+
↳ 7 from 2020 - 2025
↳ 3 from Before 2020
↳ from 2026+
↳ 7 from 2020 - 2025
↳ 3 from Before 2020
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Bedrock Geology ** indirectly affects moth distribution by influencing the type of habitat and food plants available in an area. In turn, this may affect the types of moths that can thrive, or where they can most likely be found.
NBN Atlas UK Distribution for – Leucoptera laburnella
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Note – the NBN Atlas datasets are listed in the map below and vary in their currency (uptodateness) – however,
the map does give a general indication of the moth's distribution across the UK.
Monthly Records By Year:
Leucoptera laburnella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Monthly Counts By Year:
Leucoptera laburnella
( data is based on 'Adult' stage records only )
First/Last Recorded Dates: Leucoptera laburnella
Adult-only & Anything [Larvae, Pupae, Adult, Mines]
Shading shows moth presence between dates
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Recordings By Year: Leucoptera laburnella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Leucoptera laburnella
AGR: 6.47% | Total % Change: 350%
Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Leucoptera laburnella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Leucoptera laburnella
Leucoptera laburnella
Flight Period chart – the grey hatched area above, which can cross one or more months, pictorially represents the best guess we have for this moth's flight periods [month/s]. The coloured lines represent the actual months seen in flight, from site observation records received between 2020-2026.
Mine Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Leucoptera laburnella
Leucoptera laburnella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Mine Period chart – the grey hatched area above, which can cross one or more months, pictorially represents the best guess we have for this moth's mine periods [month/s]. The coloured lines represent the actual months seen mining, from site observation records received between 2020-2026.
Records Behind the Map and Charts - Leucoptera laburnella – 10 records available
Listed by Year - descending - scroll across to see all table columns
| Site Name | Tetrad | Date | Count | Stage | Recorder | Source | RecordKey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staveley garden SYA | SK47H | 05/09/2025 | 15 | mine | Radford, Mark | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC45106676 |
| Meersbrook Park (Walled Garden) | SK38M | 24/08/2025 | 1 | mine | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC44861051 |
| Chaddesden Garden | SK33T | 13/08/2025 | 1 | adult | loverock, neil | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC44493621 |
| Darwin Forest | SK26X | 05/07/2025 | 1 | adult | Evans, Dave | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC43066131 |
| Belper | SK34U | 19/07/2024 | 1 | adult | Evans, Dave | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC37188225 |
| Belper | SK34U | 21/07/2022 | 1 | adult | Evans, Dave | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC35316655 |
| White Knowle Road, Buxton | SK07R | 04/11/2020 | 6 | Larva | Mortin, Jon | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC18168311 |
| Brackley Gate, nr Coxbench | SK34W | 03/11/2001 | 1 | Larval Mine | S.H. Hind | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001COR05 |
| Cubley, nr Ashbourne | SK13T | 04/10/2001 | 1 | Larval Mine | S.H. Hind | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001CP1F1 |
| Fernhill Rd, Mellor | SJ98U | 11/05/1997 | 1 | Adult | I.F. Smith | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001COZLE |