Ectoedemia argyropeza

Alternative names
Aspen Dot
Virgin Pigmy
Description

Wingspan about 7 mm. It lacks discrete white spots but does show a suggestion of mid-costal and dorsal white spots; frontal tuft pale ferruginous, collar concolorous; eyecaps white. The larva mines the leaves of Aspen, first galling the leaf petiole, then forming a triangular blotch extending from the midrib.  The larvae continue to feed in 'green islands' in fallen leaves. 

Identification difficulty

Adult Leafmine

Habitat

Where Aspen is present.

When to see it

There is a single generation, and the adults are on the wing in May and June.

Life History

The larva mines the leaves of Aspen (Populus tremula). Parthenogenetic (females only).

UK Status

Locally distributed throughout mainland Britain, though more plentiful in the south. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

VC55 Status

Increasingly well recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland in recent years, particularly from the leafmines on Aspen

Reference
4.085 BF23

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Virgin Pigmy
Species group:
Moths
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Nepticulidae
Records on NatureSpot:
43
First record:
03/11/2018 (Timms, Sue)
Last record:
02/12/2024 (Timms, Sue)

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