Phyllonorycter rajella

Wingspan 7 to 9 mm. A variable species, some specimens appearing very dark and some much paler. There is a broad whitish basal streak which is usually quite obvious.

Adult Leafmine

Leafmine occurs on Alder. http://www.leafmines.co.uk/html/Lepidoptera/P.rajella4.htm

Areas where the larval foodplant is present.

Adults fly in two generations; in May and again in August.

The larvae feed on Alder including Italian Alder, creating a small triangular blotch mine on the underside of the leaves.

It is quite a common species throughout the British Isles. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.

Occasional in Leicestershire and Rutland. L&R Moth Group status = C (very scarce resident or rare migrant).