4.06 BF84  –  Nepticulidae –  Nepticulinae – Stigmella ruficapitella – Red-headed Dot – (Haworth, 1828) 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-headed 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 atricapitella, Stigmella roborella
ID pointers: The adult moths are similar to several other species in the group, having uniform dark brownish wings with a bronzy sheen
Distribution:  (Last record: 1926 )  –  Uncertain – one record 1926 – Repton – Likely to be no longer a resident in the county.
Flight Period: May /  June /  July /  August /  –  Two generations May – June and July-August Mine Period: June /  July /  September /  October /  November /   – The mine is a long gallery, initially with narrow black frass, later becoming more dispersed. Moth Activity: Cathemeral   – occasionally attracted to light Photographed: No –  Photographed By: Not Recorded
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 4.5 – 6mm
Food Plant: Oak
Last Recorded Year: 1926
Last Recorded By – Not Recorded
Last Recorded General Area – Not Recorded

Selected Images:  



Distribution Map for Stigmella ruficapitella

Found 8 records
    ↳ 0 from After 2025
    ↳ 0 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 8 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 ruficapitella

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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: Stigmella ruficapitella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
No data returned from the database.

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Stigmella ruficapitella
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 ruficapitella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Stigmella ruficapitella
AGR: 0%   |   Total % Change: 0%


CUSUM Analysis: Stigmella ruficapitella
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 22 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 2001, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2001, 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 ruficapitella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Stigmella ruficapitella
( 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 ruficapitella
( 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 ruficapitella – 8 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
Ladybower ResrSK18U03/09/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Linacre WoodSK37G13/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
HopeSK18R07/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Carr Vale NR,BolsoverSK47K13/09/20061Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Brackley Gate, nr CoxbenchSK34W03/11/20011Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Abbotsholme School, RocesterSK13E04/10/20011Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Repton area (site not precise)SK32B01/01/19051Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Burton on Trent area (site not precise)SK22K01/01/18631Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

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