15.011 BF289  –  Gracillariidae –  Gracillariinae – Caloptilia falconipennella – Dark Alder Stilt – (Hübner, [1813]) Adult Micro:  CAT 3 – Very Rare/Scarce/Migrant/Adventive – confusion with leaf mines       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
Brown –  Significant Record / Very Rare / Vagrant         purple – Leaf Miner
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Gracillariidae  >> Gracillariinae
Other Name/s: Scarce Alder Slender
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  Caloptilia populetorum(Black-dot Stilt);Caloptilia cuculipennella (Privet Stilt);Caloptilia hemidactylella (Scarce Maple Stilt)
ID pointers: This species has a differing spring and summer form (seasonally dimorphic). The summer form shows a sharply defined yellowish costal blotch and in appearance resembles other Caloptilia species. In the spring form (over-wintered) however this feature is feint or absent except for a dark basal area that contrasts with the rest of the moths forewing and gives it an almost cloak-like appearance. The ground colours range from reddish-brow to greyish-brown tones. Given this is the spring form, and on the basis of the food plant being close by and the lack of any confusion species at this time of year, the moth is accepted on the superb photograph attached.
Distribution:  (First record: 24 March 2025 at Glossop )  –  (Last record: 24 March 2025 at Glossop )  –  A new species for the VC57 & Derbyshire – One recorded from Glossop to MV Light 24th March 2025 – Alder Woodland in Herod Clough that is part of the Long Clough Nature Reserve.
Flight Period: January /  February /  March /  April /  May /  September /  October /  November /  December /  –  Two forms – A spring form & a summer form – The moth overwinters. Mine Period: July /  August /   – On Alder – mining the leaf at first then creating several folds along the leaf edge feeding within. Moth Activity: Cathemeral   – and is attracted to light Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Christian Heintzen  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 26 July 2025 by TD ***
Wingspan: 12-14mm
Food Plant: Alder
Last Recorded Year: 2025
First Recorded Year: 2025
Last Recorded By – Christian Heintzen
Last Recorded General Area – Glossop

IMAGES BELOW:  

Glossop (2025) first record for VC57 & Derbyshire – Christian Heintzen©

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Distribution Map for Caloptilia falconipennella

Found 2 records
    ↳ 2 from After 2025
    ↳ 0 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 0 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 falconipennella

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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: Caloptilia falconipennella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Caloptilia falconipennella
Adult-only & Anything [Larvae, Pupae, Adult, Mines]

Shading shows moth presence between dates

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Recordings By Year: Caloptilia falconipennella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Caloptilia falconipennella
AGR: 0%   |   Total % Change: 0%
Caloptilia falconipennella
Insufficient records/data for an AGR analysis
Years Analysed: 2000 – 2025
Caloptilia falconipennella
Insufficient records/data for a CUSUM analysis
Years Analysed: 2000 – 2025

Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Caloptilia falconipennella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Caloptilia falconipennella
( 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 falconipennella
( 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 falconipennella – 2 records available

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Caloptilia falconipennellaupper cromford gardenSK25Y202510/04/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia falconipennellaDerbyshire Wildlife Trust Long Clough/Herod CloughSK09G202524/03/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract

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