Perittia obscurepunctella

Perittia obscurepunctella

Alternative names
Honeysuckle Blotch-miner
Honeysuckle Dwarf
Description

Wingspan about 9 mm. A small, indistinctly marked moth. 

The larvae mine Honeysuckle, creating a large blotch mine

Identification difficulty

Adult Leafmine

Recording advice

Adult: Gen det required.  

Leafmine: Please provide photographs including a back-lit photograph showing the frass pattern. Please also state the host plant.

Habitat

Inhabiting open woodland, and areas where Honeysuckle is present.

When to see it

The adult moths are diurnal and fly in April and May, especially in sunshine.  Mines are to be found between June and August.

Life History

The larval foodplant is honeysuckle (Lonicera), and the larva forms a translucent blotch mine on the leaves, with a dark reddish-brown central spot where the frass accumulates.

UK Status

Distributed widely, but thinly across most of England, becoming less common in the norther parts of its range. It also occurs scarcely in Wales and Ireland. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as Nationally Scarce B.

VC55 Status

Rarely recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland. The Bagworth record of 1st July 2023 is the first record for VC55.

Reference
38.001 BF590

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

No additional images available for this species.

All NatureSpot records