Caloptilia rufipennella       Caloptilia alchimiella
15.007 BF285  –  Gracillariidae –  Gracillariinae – Caloptilia azaleella – Azalea Leaf-miner – (Brants, 1913) Adult Micro:  CAT 1 – Distinctive 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  >> Gracillariinae
ID Difficulty:  green  – easy to identify, generally distinctive and unlikely to be confused with other species.
ID pointers: Very attractively marked and distinctive species. Dark brown forewings broken by a yellow band along the costa
Distribution:  (Last record: 26 February 2025 at Belper )  –  Introduced with Azaleas and rhodedendrons – Generally uncommon across the recording area with scattered records from currently just two sites – one in Belper and one in Norton Lees. Expanding its range
Flight Period: May /  June /  July /  August /  September /  October /  –  Two to three generations between May – October Mine Period: June /  September /   – The larvae mine the leaves of azaleas, later rolling the leaf downwards and forming a cone Moth Activity: Cathemeral   – and is attracted to light Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Dave Evans  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 6 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 10-11mm
 Food Plant: Azaleas
Last Recorded Year: 2024
Last Recorded By – Dave Evans
Last Recorded General Area – Belper
IMAGES BELOW:  

Belper 2024- Dave Evans©

Caloptilia azaleella -Azalea Leaf-miner - 19th May 2025 - Belper - Dave Evans
Caloptilia azaleella -Azalea Leaf-miner – 19th May 2025 – Belper – Dave Evans
Caloptilia azaleella -Azalea Leaf-miner - 19th May 2025 - Belper - Dave Evans

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Distribution Map for Caloptilia azaleella

Found 23 records
    ↳ 4 from After 2025
    ↳ 11 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 8 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 – Caloptilia azaleella

⚠️ 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: Caloptilia azaleella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Caloptilia azaleella
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: Caloptilia azaleella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Caloptilia azaleella
AGR: 3.24%   |   Total % Change: 25%


CUSUM Analysis: Caloptilia azaleella
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 21 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 7 (July) 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: Caloptilia azaleella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Caloptilia azaleella
( 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
Caloptilia azaleella
( 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 - Caloptilia azaleella – 23 records available

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Caloptilia azaleellaAllestree, DerbySK33P202530/07/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaMickleover gardenSK33C202509/07/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellasheffieldSK38M202529/05/20252adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellasheffieldSK38M202531/05/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaBelperSK34N202426/08/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaBelperSK34U202418/05/20242adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaBelperSK34U202419/05/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaBelperSK34U202425/05/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaNorton Lees, Sheffield (VC)SK38L202410/05/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaNorton Lees, Sheffield, UKSK38L202410/05/20241Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaSandiacre GardenSK43T202406/05/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaAllestree, DerbySK33P202412/05/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaBelper GardenSK34P202320/08/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaBelper GardenSK34P202328/05/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaAllestree, DerbySK33P202220/05/20221adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaNorton LeesSK38L201831/05/20181Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaNorton Lees gardenSK38L201622/08/20161not recordedvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaNorton Lees gardenSK38L201623/08/20162not recordedvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaNorton Lees gardenSK38L201626/08/20162not recordedvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaNorton Lees gardenSK38L201628/08/20162not recordedvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaNorton Lees gardenSK38L201614/06/20161not recordedvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaNorton Lees gardenSK38L201614/06/20161not recordedvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia azaleellaNorton Lees gardenSK38L201622/06/20161not recordedvc57_irecords_extract

Caloptilia rufipennella       Caloptilia alchimiella

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