Wingspan 7 or 8 mm. The adult moth has an orange head tuft and an untidy appearance created by black scaling against a whitish ground colour. The larva mines the leaves of Oak.

Adult Leafmine

Areas where Oak is present.

Leaf-mine: July, September and October.  Adults are found mainly in July and October.

The larva feeds on Oak, in conflict with the misapplied scientific name ulmella which suggests it feeds on Elm. The mine is a short contorted gallery close to the midrib of a leaf, containing broken black frass. When pupating, in common with other Bucculatrix species, the larva creates a distinctive ribbed cocoon surrounded by a 'palisade' of vertical silken hairs.

A fairly common species over England, Wales and Scotland, though like many of its genus probably overlooked. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.

It appears to be uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland, where there are few records. L&R Moth Group status = D (rare or rarely recorded).

http://www.leafmines.co.uk/html/Lepidoptera/B.ulmella2.htm

https://bladmineerders.nl/parasites/animalia/arthropoda/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/gracillarioidea/bucculatricidae/bucculatrix/bucculatrix-ulmella/