Apple Leaf Miner - Lyonetia clerkella

Alternative names
Apple Leaf-miner
Description

Wingspan 7 to 9 mm. A tiny moth with a silvery appearance but very attractively patterned when seen under magnification. The larva is long and slender. It has a segmented body and 6 dark feet.

Identification difficulty

Adult Leafmine

ID checklist (your specimen should have all of these features)

Leafmine occurs on a number of species, especially Cherry and Apple http://www.leafmines.co.uk/html/Lepidoptera/L.clerkella.htm

Habitat

Gardens and orchards.

When to see it

The adults fly at night and are attracted to light. The species has two or more broods, with the later ones overwintering and reappearing in the spring.

Life History

This tiny species attacks a variety of fruit trees including Apple with the larvae forming narrow, winding 'leaf mines'.

UK Status

Common throughout Britain. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.

VC55 Status

Fairly frequent but not common in Leicestershire and Rutland. L&R Moth Group status = B (scarce resident or restricted distribution or regular migrant)

Reference
21.001 BF263

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Apple Leaf Miner
Species group:
Moths
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Lyonetiidae
Records on NatureSpot:
494
First record:
13/06/2003 (Skevington, Mark)
Last record:
12/11/2024 (Smith, Peter)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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