15.007 BF285 – Azalea Leaf-miner – Caloptilia azaleella – (Brants, 1913)
Adult Micro: CAT 1 – Distinctive species unlikely to be confused with others – Leaf-miner: CAT L – The leaf or a Photo required – 
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– Rare / Uncommon / Scarce 
– Leaf-miner
– 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
General Comment: None Mine Period Additional: The larvae mine the leaves of azaleas, later rolling the leaf downwards and forming a cone
Mine ID Difficulty: Not Recorded
Mine Type/s: Not Recorded
Mine Feeding Method/s: Not Recorded
Mine Comment: None.
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Last Recorded Year: 2024
Last Recorded By – Dave Evans
Last Recorded General Area – Belper
Selected Images:
Belper 2024- Dave Evans©
Image Gallery
No gallery images found for this moth.
Temporal Distribution Chart
Adults: (between 2016 - 2025)
(click legend below to show/hide datasets)
Distribution Map for Caloptilia azaleella
Found 26 records
↳ from 2026+
↳ 18 from 2020 - 2025
↳ 8 from Before 2020
↳ from 2026+
↳ 18 from 2020 - 2025
↳ 8 from Before 2020
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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 – Caloptilia azaleella
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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.
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
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Recordings By Year: Caloptilia azaleella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Caloptilia azaleella
AGR: -2.23% | Total % Change: -18.3%
Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Caloptilia azaleella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Caloptilia azaleella
Caloptilia azaleella
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 2020-2026.
Mine Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Caloptilia azaleella
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 2020-2026.
Records Behind the Map and Charts - Caloptilia azaleella – 26 records available
Listed by Year - descending - scroll across to see all table columns
| Site Name | Tetrad | Date | Count | Stage | Recorder | Source | RecordKey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sheffield | SK38M | 13/10/2025 | 1 | adult | Turner, Jan | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC46069345 |
| sheffield | SK38M | 07/10/2025 | 1 | adult | Turner, Jan | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC46069115 |
| Allestree, Derby | SK33P | 30/07/2025 | 1 | adult | Plant, Stephen | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC44028755 |
| Mickleover garden | SK33C | 09/07/2025 | 1 | adult | Maughan, Christine | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC44890808 |
| sheffield | SK38M | 31/05/2025 | 1 | adult | Turner, Jan | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC42121466 |
| sheffield | SK38M | 29/05/2025 | 2 | adult | Turner, Jan | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC41987722 |
| Belper | SK34N | 26/08/2024 | 1 | adult | Evans, Dave | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC38127740 |
| Belper | SK34U | 25/05/2024 | 1 | adult | Evans, Dave | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC36123732 |
| Belper | SK34U | 19/05/2024 | 1 | adult | Evans, Dave | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC36043043 |
| Belper | SK34U | 18/05/2024 | 2 | adult | Evans, Dave | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC35982026 |
| Allestree, Derby | SK33P | 12/05/2024 | 1 | adult | Plant, Stephen | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC40083986 |
| Norton Lees, Sheffield (VC) | SK38L | 10/05/2024 | 1 | adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC38224398 |
| Norton Lees, Sheffield, UK | SK38L | 10/05/2024 | 1 | Adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC38886048 |
| Sandiacre Garden | SK43T | 06/05/2024 | 1 | adult | Milnes, Emily | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC39165344 |
| Belper Garden | SK34P | 20/08/2023 | 1 | adult | Evans, Dave | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC34544888 |
| Belper Garden | SK34P | 28/05/2023 | 1 | adult | Evans, Dave | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC34543561 |
| Allestree, Derby | SK33P | 20/05/2022 | 1 | adult | Plant, Stephen | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC34958442 |
| Allestree, Derby | SK33P | 20/05/2022 | 1 | adult | Plant, Stephen | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC47485927 |
| Norton Lees | SK38L | 31/05/2018 | 1 | Adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC6864856 |
| Norton Lees garden | SK38L | 28/08/2016 | 2 | Adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC4417973 |
| Norton Lees garden | SK38L | 26/08/2016 | 2 | Adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC4417946 |
| Norton Lees garden | SK38L | 23/08/2016 | 2 | Adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC4417929 |
| Norton Lees garden | SK38L | 22/08/2016 | 1 | Adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC4417901 |
| Norton Lees garden | SK38L | 22/06/2016 | 1 | Adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC4414924 |
| Norton Lees garden | SK38L | 14/06/2016 | 1 | Adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC3314598 |
| Norton Lees garden | SK38L | 14/06/2016 | 1 | Adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC4414839 |