38.037 BF607 – Common Grass-miner – Elachista canapennella – (Hübner, [1813])
Adult Micro: CAT 2 – Can be confused with other species – Leaf-miner: CAT L – The leaf or a Photo required – 
– click for General Verification Guidelines | – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
– click for General Verification Guidelines | – click for Specific Verification Guidelines 
– Rare / Uncommon / Scarce 
– Leaf-miner
– care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required. Confusion Species: Other Elachista spp.
ID pointers: The males of this species are relatively plain greyish brown with indistinct darker mottling. There is a hint of a pale buffy spot at the tornis and a feint cross-band at about half way on the forewing.The females are quite different, being smaller with much more distinctive dark grey ground colour with a white cross-band and other white markings.
Distribution: Likely uncommon in Derbyshire, Less than a dozen or so modern day records. Probably isolated colonies across the county. First record in 1800’s then 26/6/2013, 19/5/2018 / 9/5/2021 and one in Kings Newton but no date.
General Comment: None Mine Period Additional: The larvae produce flat whitish mines
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 By – Not Recorded
Last Recorded General Area – Not Recorded
Selected Images:
Image Gallery
No gallery images found for this moth.
Temporal Distribution Chart
Adults: (between 2011 - 2025)
(click legend below to show/hide datasets)
Distribution Map for Elachista canapennella
Found 13 records
↳ from 2026+
↳ 10 from 2020 - 2025
↳ 3 from Before 2020
↳ from 2026+
↳ 10 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 – Elachista canapennella
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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:
Elachista canapennella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Monthly Counts By Year:
Elachista canapennella
( data is based on 'Adult' stage records only )
First/Last Recorded Dates: Elachista canapennella
Adult-only & Anything [Larvae, Pupae, Adult, Mines]
Shading shows moth presence between dates
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Recordings By Year: Elachista canapennella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Elachista canapennella
AGR: 2.08% | Total % Change: 33.3%
Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Elachista canapennella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Elachista canapennella
Elachista canapennella
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
Elachista canapennella
Elachista canapennella
( 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 - Elachista canapennella – 13 records available
Listed by Year - descending - scroll across to see all table columns
| Site Name | Tetrad | Date | Count | Stage | Recorder | Source | RecordKey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaw Farm, New Mills VC | SJ98Y | 12/08/2025 | 1 | adult | Hind, Steve | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC44526618 |
| Norton Lees, Sheffield | SK38L | 13/07/2025 | 1 | adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC43600438 |
| King's Newton | SK32Y | 01/05/2025 | 2 | adult | Soar, Will | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC41522954 |
| All | SK33P | 13/08/2024 | 1 | adult | Plant, Stephen | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC40215274 |
| Ladycroft Ave, Buxton | SK07S | 03/08/2024 | 1 | adult | Orridge, Steve | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC37918695 |
| Glossop, Gnat Hole Rough Fields | SK09L | 12/05/2024 | 1 | adult | Heintzen, Christian | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC36371666 |
| Grin Plantation, Buxton | SK07L | 09/07/2021 | 1 | adult | S.A. Orridge, Lindsey and Rowan Wakefield | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC35094013 |
| Thornhill Carr | SK18X | 07/07/2021 | 1 | adult | S Orridge, S Soady, C. Miles, C Crawford, D Hughes | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC35094094 |
| Hathersage, Derbyshire, UK | SK28F | 09/05/2021 | 1 | adult | Miles, Claire | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC29303571 |
| Main Street, Kings Newton | SK32Y | 12/07/2020 | 1 | Adult | Soar, Will | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC34060094 |
| Main Street, Kings Newton | SK32Y | 04/09/2017 | 1 | Adult | Soar, Will | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC34060095 |
| Main Street, Kings Newton | SK32Y | 03/07/2017 | 1 | Adult | Soar, Will | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC34060096 |
| Backgarden Marehay | SK34Z | 02/06/2011 | 1 | adult | Thorpe, Steve | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC33512493 |