Roeslerstammia erxlebella

Roeslerstammia erxlebella

Alternative names
Burnished Copper
Copper Ermel
Description

Wingspan c.13mm. This distinctive metallic-golden micro has when fresh, a purplish-bronze tinge to the area around the base of the forewings. It also sports a noticeably yellow crown and has a white band close to the tip of the antennae. The larva mines the leaves of Lime in a short corridor that appears more like a blotch, at the leaf-edge and usually occupying the leaf-tip.  It also occasionally mines Birch leaves. Later instars live freely on the leaf and pupate in a leaf-fold. 

Identification difficulty

Adult leaf mine

Recording advice

Larval stage: photograph the leaf mine with backlight; note host species in comments

Habitat

Well wooded areas containing Lime and Birch.

When to see it

There are two generations, at least in the south of the range, with adults on the wing in May and June and again in August and September.

Life History

The larvae feed on the leaves of Lime and Birch, mining the leaves when young.

UK Status

Mainly distributed in the southern half of England, there are also scattered localities in Wales and in Scotland where the species occurs. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

VC55 Status

It is uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland. L&R Moth Group status = D (rare or rarely recorded)

Reference
13.002 BF447

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