Fomoria septembrella

Fomoria septembrella

Alternative names
Hypericum Dot
Ectoedemia septembrella
Hypericum Pigmy
Description

A tiny moth, having a wingspan of only around 6 mm, with quite a coarsely-scaled appearance.  The larva mines the leaves of Hypericum species such as St John's Wort.

Identification difficulty

Adult Leafmine

Habitat

Wherever the larval foodplant, St. John's-wort (Hypericum), occurs. 

When to see it

The species has two generations, on the wing in May and June, and again in August.

Life History

The larvae feed in a mine in a leaf of St. John's-wort (Hypericum), at first in a narrow gallery, later becoming a blotch mine.

UK Status

Fairly frequent in England and Wales. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.

VC55 Status

Occasional in Leicestershire and Rutland, where it is usually recorded from the leafmines on St John's-wort.

Reference
4.078 BF42

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