Phylloporia bistrigella

Phylloporia bistrigella

Alternative names
Striped Cutter
Striped Bright
Striped Leaf-cutter
Description

A very small (Wingspan c.8 mm) dark, but distinctively patterned moth.  It is easily overlooked due to its very small size, and is most likely to be recorded from its larval leafmine on Birch (see ‘Life History’ below)

Identification difficulty

Adult Leafmine  

Recording advice

Good photographs are required when recording this species at any life stage.

Habitat

This species can sometimes be found in daylight around birches. It is also attracted to light.

When to see it

The adults fly in May and June. 

Life History

The larvae feed on Betula species. They mine the leaves of their host plant, usually encircling a good part of the leaf, and finishing in a whitish blotch with scattered frass. It then cuts out an oval case from this position and drops to the ground. The leaf area enclosed within the mine becomes paler and vacated mines are quite distinctive.

UK Status

Locally distributed throughout the British Isles. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

VC55 Status

Rarely recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland.

Reference
8.005 BF128

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