15.048 BF328  –  Gracillariidae –  Lithocolletinae – Phyllonorycter junoniella – Cowberry Leaf-miner – (Zeller, 1846) Adult Micro:  CAT 2 – Confusion Species –       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
Green –  Rare / Uncommon / Scarce        purple – Leaf Miner
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Gracillariidae  >> Lithocolletinae
Other Name/s: Upland Midget
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
ID pointers: An attractively marked little moth. Typically orange-bronze coloured with a pair of diagonal white cross bands edged black and a pale white basal streak that is weakly edged.
Distribution:  (Last record: 28 February 2025 at Combs Moss )  –  Another restricted species to the moorlands of Derbyshire where Cowberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea grows. It is highly likely that this moth is under-recorded. There are records going back to the 70’s but recent records in Jan 25 and Feb 25 appear to be the first since that time.
Flight Period: May /  September /  –  May sometimes a second generation in September Mine Period: January /  February /  March /  April /  October /  November /  December /   – The larvae mine the leaves of Cowberry Forming a mine on the underside which will often occupy the whole leaf, causing it to become convex on the upper surface. Mines are typically found on smaller plants growing amongst heather. Moth Activity: Cathemeral   – but can be disturbed during the day Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Christian Heintzen  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 6 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 7-8mm
Food Plant: Cowberry accinium vitis-idaea
Last Recorded Year: 2025
Last Recorded By – Steve Orridge
Last Recorded General Area – Combs Moss

IMAGES BELOW:  Bray Clough (January 2025) Christian Heintzen© / Combs Moss- Steve Orridge©

Distribution Map for Phyllonorycter junoniella

Found 9 records
    ↳ 6 from After 2025
    ↳ 0 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 3 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 junoniella

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

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Phyllonorycter junoniella
Adult-only & Anything [Larvae, Pupae, Adult, Mines]

Shading shows moth presence between dates

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Recordings By Year: Phyllonorycter junoniella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Phyllonorycter junoniella
AGR: 0%   |   Total % Change: 0%
Phyllonorycter junoniella
Insufficient records/data for an AGR analysis
Years Analysed: 2000 – 2025
Phyllonorycter junoniella
Insufficient records/data for a CUSUM analysis
Years Analysed: 2000 – 2025

Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Phyllonorycter junoniella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Phyllonorycter junoniella
( 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 junoniella
( 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 junoniella – 9 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
Leygatehead & Middle Moor above Little HayfieldSK08P11/04/20252Leaf-minevc57_irecords_extract
Leygatehead & Middle Moor above Little HayfieldSK08P11/04/20251Leaf-minevc57_irecords_extract
Chunal MoorSK09K22/02/20251Larvavc57_irecords_extract
Chunal MoorSK09L22/02/20252Larvavc57_irecords_extract
Lightwood, BuxtonSK07T28/02/20254minevc57_irecords_extract
Bray CloughSK09K15/01/20251Minevc57_irecords_extract
Whitesprings, Hall Dale, Darley DaleSK26X08/05/19711Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Whitesprings, Hall Dale, Darley DaleSK26X31/05/19711Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
nr Eyam MoorSK27J17/05/19701Larvaevc57_danes_bc_data

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