4.014 BF98  –  Nepticulidae –  Nepticulinae – Stigmella catharticella – Buckthorn Dot – (Stainton, 1853) Adult Micro:  CAT 4 – Gen. Det. Required – Gen-Det-Reqd       Leaf-miner:  CAT L – The leaf or a Photo required – reared and possibly dissected       Larval Case:  C1 – Distinctive Species –       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Black – Uncertain/Unknown – Insufficient Data        purple – Leaf Miner
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Nepticulidae  >> Nepticulinae
** Identification write-up required **
Other Name/s: Buckthorn Pigmy
ID Difficulty:  Red – difficult to identify – detailed examination required, often a Gen Det and/or specimen and quality photographs are required.
ID pointers: No information available at this time
Distribution:  (First record: 23 October 2023 at Carver's Rocks )  –  (Last record: 29 October 2025 at Sunnydale LNR, Derby )  –  Restricted to areas where the foodplant may exist. Uncertain in Derbyshire with first vice county record on 30/9/2023 Carver’s Rocks.
Flight Period: May /  June /  July /  August /  September /  –  Two generations May – June and July – September Mine Period: June /  July /  September /  October /   – The tenated mines can be difficult to find on the food plant. Long straight slender gallery, turning into a series of ‘S’ turns. Frass and larva match colour of leaf.  – but can be disturbed during the day Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Graham Finch, Andrew-John Shervill  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 29 October 2025 by TD ***
Wingspan: 5-6mm
Food Plant: Buckthorn
Last Recorded Year: 2025
First Recorded Year: 2023
Last Recorded By – Andrew-John Shervill
Last Recorded General Area – Sunnydale LNR, Derby

Selected Images:  

30/9/2023 – Carver’s Rocks – Graham Finch©; 29/9/2025 – Sunnydale LNR<Derby – Andrew-John Shervill©



Distribution Map for Stigmella catharticella

Found 3 records
    ↳ 2 from After 2025
    ↳ 1 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 0 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 – Stigmella catharticella

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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: Stigmella catharticella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
No data returned from the database.

Monthly Counts By Year: Stigmella catharticella
( data is based on 'Adult' stage records only. )


First/Last Recorded Dates: Stigmella catharticella
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: Stigmella catharticella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Stigmella catharticella
AGR: 41.42%   |   Total % Change: 100%


CUSUM Analysis: Stigmella catharticella
About this chart: CUSUM (Cumulative Sum) charts track long-term trends in moth populations [ filtered by 'Adult' and 'Mine' life stages ] by showing whether each year’s counts are above or below the historical average. Even small shifts build up over time, making trends of growth, stability, or decline easier to see. CUSUM highlights trend-consistency — asking: “Across the years, have moth counts mostly stayed above or below average?”
The data sample has 24 gap year/s here (zero records) between 2000 and 2025. The moth may have been present in those gap years, but no data was available. Too many year-gaps may exaggerate or skew the chart.

Counts for the current year (2025) are pro-rated based on data available up to month 9 (September) to provide a full-year equivalent.

Purple line rises = years better than average; falls = years worse than average.
Peak (best year) Trough (worst year) Growth periods Decline periods
Population peaked around 2025, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2023, showing a significant decline.

What the Y-axis "Cumulative Deviation" means: Cumulative Deviation shows the running total of how each year’s moth population count differs from the long-term average. i

Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Stigmella catharticella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Stigmella catharticella
( data includes Adult Stage only )

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 2020-2025.

Mine Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Stigmella catharticella
( 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 2020-2025.

Records Behind the Map and Charts - Stigmella catharticella – 3 records available

Listed by Year - descending - scroll across to see all table columns

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
Sunnydale LNRSK33G29/09/20253minevc57_irecords_extract
Markham Vale North TipSK47L28/09/20251minevc57_irecords_extract
Carver's RocksSK32G30/09/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract

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