Bucculatrix albedinella

Bucculatrix albedinella

Alternative names
Elm Tuft
Elm Bent-wing
Description

Wingspan about 9mm. A tiny, white and buff species with slight tufts. The larva mines the leaves of Elm.

Identification difficulty

Adult Leafmine

Habitat

Areas where Elm is present.

When to see it

The moths fly in June and can be found resting on the trunks of the foodplant, Elm but it is most often encountered as a larval mine on the leaves. They are distinctive due to their 'divertacula' - small offshoots from the mine itself.

Life History

The pupal cocoon is not ribbed, unlike most other members of the genus.

UK Status

Distributed in southern to central and north eastern England. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

VC55 Status

Occasional in Leicestershire and Rutland, increasingly recorded from leafmines on Elm.

Reference
14.007 BF271

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