Photo © Charlie Streets

Phyllonorycter esperella

Checklist Number
15.065 [B&F: 0343]

Verification
Record requires retention of specimen until confirmed, and may require dissection. Consult with CMR if unsure

Classification

Family:Gracillariidae
Subfamily:Lithocolletinae
Genus:Phyllonorycter
Species:esperella
Authority:(Goeze, 1783)

Local in woodland in south-east England up to Northamptonshire, with isolated records elsewhere from the south-west and Welsh borders (MBGBI Vol 2). Probably under-recorded in Hampshire, where the extent of known records correlate with those areas in which the recording effort is concentrated, with the first record from the Isle of Wight coming in 1996. Wingspan 7.5-9 mm. Imago not often seen at light, and more frequently recorded in the larval stage, when mines are relatively easy to find where they are present; in Hampshire and on the Island, almost all records are of the leaf mines, hence the sparseness of the flight-time graph. Larva mines leaves of Hornbeam, over-wintering as a pupa in a cocoon.

The abundance in each month is indicated as follows:

No records
Very occasional
Irregular
Uncommon
Off-peak, but not unusual
Off-peak, but not unusual
Main flight time
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Adult
Larval

Records by week (adult)

Records by week (larval)