4.042 BF67  –  Nepticulidae –  Nepticulinae – Stigmella plagicolella – Blue-shot Dot – (Stainton, 1854) Adult Micro:  CAT 4 – Gen. Det. Required – Gen-Det-Reqd       Leaf-miner:  CAT L – The leaf or a Photo required – reared and possibly dissected       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
Other Name/s: Scrubland Pigmy
ID Difficulty:  Red – difficult to identify – detailed examination required, often a Gen Det and/or specimen and quality photographs are required.
Confusion Species: Stigmella filipendulae
ID pointers: Adults have an orange-brown head with dark forewings that show a bronzy and purple sheens and a neat whitish fascia.
Distribution:  (Last record: 23 September 2025 at Sunnyhill Park, Derby )  –  Uncertain as few records of adult. Leaf mines from a number of sites across the recording area. Leaf Mines surveyed at Wyver Lane, Belper 20/8/2025
Flight Period: May /  June /  August /  –  2 generations in May-June and August Mine Period: July /  September /  October /   – The leaf mine is a roundish blotch which begins as a narrow gallery, with Frass at the centre. Moth Activity: Cathemeral   – and is attracted to light Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Martin C.Harvey; Dave Evans; Steve Orridge, Andrew-John Shervill  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 4-5mm
Food Plant: Prunus and Blackthorn
Last Recorded Year: 2025
Last Recorded By – Andrew-John Shervill
Last Recorded General Area – Sunnyhill Park, Derby

Selected Images:  

Wyver Lane – Dave Evans©; Monsal Head – Martin Harvey©; Rose End Meadows – Steve Orridge©/ Sunnyhill Park 2025 – Andrew-John Shervill©



Distribution Map for Stigmella plagicolella

Found 31 records
    ↳ 7 from After 2025
    ↳ 13 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 11 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 plagicolella

⚠️ Please wait for the map to load fully – do not click the link shown.


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 plagicolella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
No data returned from the database.

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Stigmella plagicolella
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 plagicolella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Stigmella plagicolella
AGR: 11.33%   |   Total % Change: 457.1%


CUSUM Analysis: Stigmella plagicolella
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 19 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 8 (August) 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 2024, 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 plagicolella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Stigmella plagicolella
( 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 plagicolella
( 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 plagicolella – 31 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
Markham Vale South TipSK47K01/10/20251minevc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P02/09/20255mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P09/09/20252mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Sunnyhill Park, DerbySK33L23/09/202510minevc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P06/08/20253mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P13/08/20256mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P20/08/202512mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Burton upon TrentSK32P05/11/20241Minevc57_irecords_extract
Pottery WoodSK32G05/11/20241Minevc57_irecords_extract
Monsall HeadSK17V14/10/20241minevc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P30/10/20241mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
River Derwent, DerbySK33S21/09/20242minevc57_irecords_extract
River Derwent, DerbySK33S21/09/20241minevc57_irecords_extract
Pleasley Pit Country ParkSK46X26/08/20241mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Lower Gamesley VCSK09C31/08/20241minevc57_irecords_extract
Poppy WoodSK32S22/11/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Carver's RocksSK32G30/09/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Carver's RocksSK32G30/09/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Carver's RocksSK32H21/09/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Allestree ParkSK34K25/09/20221Minevc57_irecords_extract
Grange WoodSK21S13/09/20181Minevc57_irecords_extract
Thorpe, DovedaleSK15K13/10/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
BamfordSK28B21/09/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Ashford in the WaterSK16Z22/09/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Rose End MeadowSK25Y16/10/20091minevc57_irecords_extract
Cromford, Matlock DE, UKSK25Y16/10/20091Larvavc57_irecords_extract
HopeSK18R07/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Coombs Dale,Stoney MiddletonSK27H12/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Stoney MiddletonSK27H12/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Coombs Dale,Stoney MiddletonSK27H12/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
CromfordSK25Y16/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data

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