8.003 BF131  –  Incurvariidae –  Incurvariinae – Incurvaria oehlmanniella – Purple-tinged Cutter – (Hübner, 1796) 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
Black – Uncertain/Unknown – Insufficient Data        purple – Leaf Miner     day-flying – Day-flying
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Incurvariidae  >> Incurvariinae
Other Name/s: Common Leaf-cutter
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  Incurvaria masculella
ID pointers: Easily confused with I. masculella – The males of this species have simple antennae – An attractively marked little moth. The yellowish marking on the costa is closer to the wing tip. If present on masculella it is closer to the head than the opposing tornal spot.
Distribution:  (Last record: 22 February 2025 at Longdendale, Wildboar Clough )  –  Uncertain due to few records – One in 1971 then two in 2024 – likely to be found in localised colonies on the upland moors where there are Bilberry and Cloudberry growing.
Flight Period: June /  July /  –  One generation in June – July Mine Period: July /  August /   – The larvae feed on bilberry and cloudberry, and at first they mine the leaves creating a small blotch mine elongated to form a linear mine, then cut out a portable case and dropping to the ground. Here they feed on dead leaves. Moth Activity: Cathemeral  Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Christian Heintzen  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 6 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 14mm
Food Plant: Bilberry and Cloud Berry
Last Recorded Year: 2024
Last Recorded By – Christian Heintzen
Last Recorded General Area – Longdendale, Wildboar Clough

IMAGES BELOW:  

Longdendale – 2024 – Christian Heintzen©

no images were found

Distribution Map for Incurvaria oehlmanniella

Found 12 records
    ↳ 3 from After 2025
    ↳ 2 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 7 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 – Incurvaria oehlmanniella

⚠️ Please wait for the map to load fully – do not click the link shown.


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: Incurvaria oehlmanniella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Incurvaria oehlmanniella
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: Incurvaria oehlmanniella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Incurvaria oehlmanniella
AGR: 3.2%   |   Total % Change: 100%


CUSUM Analysis: Incurvaria oehlmanniella
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 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: Incurvaria oehlmanniella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Incurvaria oehlmanniella
( 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
Incurvaria oehlmanniella
( 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 - Incurvaria oehlmanniella – 12 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
Markham Vale DerbyshireSK47K11/05/20254adultvc57_irecords_extract
Markham Vale South Tip , DerbyshireSK47K18/05/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Longdendale, Wildboar Clough WoodlandSK09U20/05/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Derbyshire Wild Life Trust Long CloughSK09G15/05/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Longdendale, Wildboar CloughSK09U19/05/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Hardhurst Rd, Alvaston, DerbySK33W24/05/20101Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Dimminsdale NR, Calke, TicknallSK32Q03/06/20031Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Slagmill Plantation, Beeley Moor (site not precise)SK36E14/06/19941Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Hell Bank Plantation, Beeley (site not precise)SK26Z23/05/19711Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Repton (site not precise)SK32B01/06/19271Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Breadsall Moor, Breadsall, Derby (site not precise)SK33U31/05/19191Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Repton (site not precise)SK32B01/01/19061Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

Scroll to Top