Phyllonorycter esperella

Alternative names
Dark Hornbeam Leaf-miner
Dark Hornbeam Midget
Description

Wingspan 7 to 9 mm.

Identification difficulty

Adult Leafmine

ID guidance
Habitat

Areas where Hornbeam is present.

When to see it

The adults emerge, like many other Phyllonorycters, in May and again in August as a second brood.

Life History

The larvae feed on Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) and the species is one of the few creating a mine on the upperside of the leaf. The mine is a blotch with a papery upper surface, and can cause the leaf to fold over strongly.

UK Status

A local species, mainly found in the south and south-east of England northwards to the midlands. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

VC55 Status

Increasingly well recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland in recent years, particularly from the leafmines on Hornbeam.

Reference
15.065 BF343

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Dark Hornbeam Midget
Species group:
Moths
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Gracillariidae
Records on NatureSpot:
56
First record:
05/10/2017 (Calow, Graham)
Last record:
17/11/2023 (Graves, Hazel)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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