Acrolepia autumnitella

Acrolepia autumnitella

Alternative names
Speckled Bittersweet Moth
Bittersweet Smudge
Bittersweet Fanner
Description

Wingspan 11-13 mm. A small inconspicuous species with brown wings that have a white patterning.  The larva mines the leaves of Bittersweet or occasionally Deadly Nightshade.

Identification difficulty

Adult Leafmine

Habitat

Various habitats especially those supporting the larval foodplant Bittersweet.

When to see it

The adults generally emerge in two generations, firstly in July and then in October - the second brood overwintering in this stage which probably accounts for any early sightings.

Life History

The larvae mine the leaves of Bittersweet or occasionally Deadly Nightshade forming large whitish or translucent blotches. The pupa is formed in a cocoon fashioned from a network of silk.

UK Status

Distributed mainly in the southern half of England with a few scattered records further north, although it is probably overlooked. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.

VC55 Status

Increasingly well recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland area, especially from the leafmines on Bittersweet.

Reference
19.014 BF476

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Additional images

All NatureSpot records