Leucoptera laburnella - 21/7/2022-Belper - Dave Evans
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 – reared and possibly dissected      
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Green –  Rare / Uncommon / Scarce        purple – Leaf-miner
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Lyonetiidae  >> Cemiostominae
ID Difficulty:  green  – 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
Flight Period: May /  June /  July /  August –  Two generations – May-June and July-August Mine Period:  June /  July /  September
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.
Moth Activity: Cathemeral   – and is attracted to light Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Jon Mortin; Dave Evans  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 7-9mm
Food Plant: Laburnum / Dyers Greenweed / Garden Lupin
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©



Temporal Distribution Chart
Adults: (between 1997 - 2025)  |  Immatures: (between 2001 - 2025)
(click legend below to show/hide datasets)
This chart summarises all available historical occurrence records collated by ISO week of the year. It reflects recorder effort and sampling distribution as well as true biological activity, and should be interpreted as an indicative pattern of seasonal occurrence rather than a statistically controlled abundance or phenology model.

Distribution Map for Leucoptera laburnella

Found 10 records
    ↳ from 2026+
    ↳ 7 from 2020 - 2025
    ↳ 3 from Before 2020
Flying
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Mining
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

If the Map Layers function fails, just refresh the page and it should be OK after. Use the +- zoom on the top left, or on a tablet, use two fingers to zoom. Remember, the last layer you ticked is the one which displays the popup information - they sit on top of each other - de-select then re-select, to see the popup values.

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.

Visit NBN Site


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

Click the colour discs below to Select/De-select as Required

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

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
( 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

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