4.043 BF63  –  Nepticulidae –  Nepticulinae – Stigmella lemniscella – Beautiful Elm Dot – (Zeller, 1839) 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: Red Elm Pigmy
ID Difficulty:  Red – difficult to identify – detailed examination required, often a Gen Det and/or specimen and quality photographs are required.
ID pointers: The egg can be found on either side of the leaf and the frass is dispersed in the early part of the mine. A narrow gallery that often follows the leaf edge. Found on Ulmus (Elm). Adults are attractive with a bronzy tinge to the wing,a black head and a silvery fascia
Distribution:  (Last record: 20 August 2025 at Wyver Lane, Belper )  –  National Status – Distributed throughout the British Isles, scarcer further north – Derbyshire status unknown due to very little data only a few leaf mine records. Leaf Mines 20/8/2025 Wyver Lane, Belper.
Flight Period: May /  August /  –  May and August Mine Period: June /  July /  September /  October /   – June – July and September – October Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Dave Evans  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 5-6mm
Food Plant: elm (Ulmus) including Wych elm (U. glabra)
Last Recorded Year: 2025
Last Recorded By – Dave Evans
Last Recorded General Area – Wyver Lane, Belper

Selected Images:  Dave Evans – September 2024 & September 2022 – Wyver Lane, Belper.

 
 


Distribution Map for Stigmella lemniscella

Found 27 records
    ↳ 7 from After 2025
    ↳ 6 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 14 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 lemniscella

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

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Stigmella lemniscella
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 lemniscella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Stigmella lemniscella
AGR: 10.8%   |   Total % Change: 471.4%


CUSUM Analysis: Stigmella lemniscella
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 20 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 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 lemniscella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Stigmella lemniscella
( 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 lemniscella
( 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 lemniscella – 27 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P09/09/20251mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P26/08/20255mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P20/08/202514mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P13/08/20255mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P06/08/20253mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P23/07/20255mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P23/07/20257mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Burton upon TrentSK32P05/11/20241Minevc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P30/10/20242mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Lathkill DaleSK16X16/10/20241minevc57_irecords_extract
Chee DaleSK17G15/10/20241larvavc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P12/09/20242mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P04/09/20243mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Grange WoodSK21S13/09/20181Minevc57_irecords_extract
Thorpe, Ashbourne DE, UKSK15K13/10/20101Larvavc57_irecords_extract
Thorpe, DovedaleSK15K13/10/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Ashford in the WaterSK16Z22/09/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Ashford in the WaterSK16Z22/09/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
BamfordSK28B21/09/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Lathkill DaleSK16Y04/09/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Hopton Wood NRSK25T16/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Linacre WoodSK37G13/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
HopeSK18R07/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
NorburySK14G01/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
AshbourneSK14T01/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Tissington Trail, AshbourneSK14T01/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Strines, New MillsSJ98T17/09/20081Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data

 
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