Stigmella aurella - Distribution map

Please note that the NBN Gateway map service has been terminated as of 1 April 2017.

As soon as a replacement map service is available, distribution maps will hopefully appear here again.

In the meantime, you can get some idea of distribution from the NBN Atlas website.

View the NBN Atlas Map

4.045 BF50

Stigmella aurella

(Fabricius, 1775)


Wingspan 6-7 mm.

The large group of moths known as the Nepticulidae are all very tiny, and because of the way their larvae feed internally on leaves, they are known as leaf-miners. The shape of the pale gallery or blotch created by the larva as it feeds is usually a better means of identification than comparing the adult moths.

The foodplant is bramble (Rubus), and the adults, with a wingspan of only 6mm, have a metallic sheen and fly in May and later in the summer.

This species is probably the commonest and most widespread in the British Isles, and its whitish mines are a familiar sight on bramble leaves everywhere.
back to top