15.073 BF351  –  Gracillariidae –  Lithocolletinae – Phyllonorycter lautella – Small Oak Leaf-miner – (Zeller, 1846) Adult Micro:  CAT 2 – Confusion Species –       Leaf-miner:  CAT L – The leaf or a Photo required – reared and possibly dissected       Larval Case:  C1 – Distinctive Species –       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Black – Uncertain/Unknown – Insufficient Data        purple – Leaf Miner
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Gracillariidae  >> Lithocolletinae
Other Name/s: Fiery Oak Midget
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
ID pointers: A distinctive Phyllonorycter, with fiery orange ground colour to forewings, a black head tuft, metallic lead-grey thorax and silvery-white markings strongly edged with black.
Distribution:  (Last record: 6 November 2020 at Blacka Moor Plantation )  –  Another Phyllonorycter species that has an uncertain status in the recording area. One record of the leaf mine in 2020 and one record prior to 2010.
General Comment: None
Flight Period: May /  August –  Two generations – May & August Mine Period:  July /  September /  October
Mine Period Additional: A long and narrow mine on underside of Oak leaves, can have several to one leaf – species prefers young trees or saplings
Mine ID Difficulty: Not Recorded
Mine Type/s: Not Recorded
Mine Feeding Method/s: Not Recorded
Mine Comment: None.
Moth Activity: Cathemeral   – but can be disturbed during the day Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Andrew Watchorn (Leaf Mine)  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 19 November 2025 by TD ***
Wingspan: 6-7mm
Food Plant: Oak
Last Recorded Year: 2020
Last Recorded By – Andrew Watchorn
Last Recorded General Area – Blacka Moor Plantation

Selected Images:  

Blacka Moor 6/11/2020 – Andrew Watchorn©



Distribution Map for Phyllonorycter lautella

Found 3 records
    ↳ 0 from After 2025
    ↳ 1 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 2 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 – Phyllonorycter lautella

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

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


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


CUSUM Analysis: Phyllonorycter lautella
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 24 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 2009, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2009, 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: Phyllonorycter lautella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Phyllonorycter lautella
( 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 lautella
( 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 lautella – 3 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
Blacka Moor and PlantationSK28V06/11/202010pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Padley Gorge, Nether PadleySK27P19/08/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
LinacreSK37L13/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data

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