15.043 BF323  –  Gracillariidae –  Lithocolletinae – Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae – Common Thorn Leaf-miner – (Frey, 1856) 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
Blue –  Generally Common / Widespread        purple – Leaf Miner
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Gracillariidae  >> Lithocolletinae
Other Name/s: Common Thorn Midget
ID Difficulty:  Red – difficult to identify – detailed examination required, often a Gen Det and/or specimen and quality photographs are required.
Confusion Species: Separated from P. sorbi and P. mespilella by Gen. Det.
ID pointers: A Leaf-miner – The mine is on underside of a leaf, usually in a lobe causing the tip to fold downwards. Attractively marked but can only be identified by Gen Det.
Distribution:  Suspect the moth is common on Hawthorn (Crataegus). 47 Leaf Mines surveyed on 20/8/2025 at Wyver Lane, Belper.
Flight Period: May /  August /  –  Two generations May & August Mine Period: July /  September /  October /   – Mines & larval status  July-September and October Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Dave Evans  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 20 August 2025 by TD ***
Wingspan: 6-8mm
Food Plant: Hawthorn, sometimes on Pear & Quince.
Recorded dates for Common [Blue code Blue-coded] moths are not stored on the website at this current time.

IMAGES BELOW:  Belper – Dave Evans ©

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Distribution Map for Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae

Found 47 records
    ↳ 5 from After 2025
    ↳ 10 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 32 from Before 2020

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.

******* Choose ONLY one at a time, of either Monad, Tetrad or Hectad Distribution - each has it's own set of data. Also, the distribution maps cover ALL recorded data. *******

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.

Land-cover * shows the variety of land-cover within the VC57 area, based on the CORINE (Coordination of Information on the Environment) forty-four thematic classes of land-cover. This will show, to a greater or lesser degree, the number and variety of moths found in different land-cover types. The UK continues to operate within the Copernicus programme, with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) providing Corine Land Cover (CLC) datasets for the UK and its territories.


NBN Atlas UK Distribution for – Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae

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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.

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Monthly Records By Year: Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae
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: Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae
AGR: 10.59%   |   Total % Change: 1020%


CUSUM Analysis: Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae
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 15 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: Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae
( 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
Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae
( 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 - Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae – 47 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P02/09/20253mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P06/08/20252mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P13/08/20253mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P20/08/202547mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Gleadless Valley LNRSK38R28/07/20251minevc57_irecords_extract
Burton upon TrentSK32P05/11/20241Minevc57_irecords_extract
Pottery WoodSK32G05/11/20241Minevc57_irecords_extract
Railway Station Wood, BuxtonSK07L14/10/20241Adultvc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P04/09/20245mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
DWT Wyver LaneSK34P12/09/20245mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Cromford CanalSK35G18/08/20242mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Poppy WoodSK32S22/11/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Calke ParkSK32R07/10/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Calke ParkSK32R01/10/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Carver's RocksSK32G30/09/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Millers DaleSK17G03/09/20111Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Thorpe, DovedaleSK15K13/10/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
BamfordSK28B21/09/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Ladybower ResrSK18U03/09/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Ashford in the WaterSK16Z22/09/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Ashford in the WaterSK16Z22/09/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Howden ResrSK19L25/08/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Upper Wood, Howden ResrSK19R25/08/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
HopeSK18R07/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Hopton Wood, CromfordSK25S16/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Hopton Wood NR, CromfordSK25T16/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
NorburySK14G01/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Tissington Trail, AshbourneSK14T01/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Coombs Dale,Stoney MiddletonSK27H12/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
LinacreSK37L13/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Rose End Meadows NR,CromfordSK25Y16/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
CastletonSK18L10/09/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Millers Dale, BuxtonSK17L14/09/20081Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Repton, SwadlincoteSK32C26/09/20081Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Strines, New MillsSJ98T17/09/20081Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Lathkill Dale,BakewellSK16Y19/09/20081Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Oaks Barn Cottage, Monyash Rd, Over Haddon, BakewellSK26D19/09/20081Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
SmalleySK44C03/11/20071Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Carr Vale NR,BolsoverSK46P13/09/20061Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Carr Vale NR,BolsoverSK47K13/09/20061Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Shallcross Wood, Goyt Valley, Whaley BridgeSK07E26/09/20061Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Ogston Carr Wood,nr Ogston ResSK35U12/07/20061Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Hillclifflane, nr IdridgehaySK24Y02/11/20021Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Brackley Gate, nr CoxbenchSK34W03/11/20011Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Abbotsholme School, RocesterSK13E04/10/20011Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Broomfield Hall, Morley, DerbySK34V02/11/19961Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Clough Wood,Darley DaleSK26K12/11/19831Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data

 
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