Phyllonorycter corylifoliella

Wingspan 8 to 9 mm. The orangey coloured adult is weakly marked in comparison to some of its congeners. The larva mines the leaves of Hawthorn (and also on Apple, Cherry and others), creating an upper-surface mine, usually over the midrib or vein; the mine is rounded in shape and flecked with blackish-brown frass when mature.

The firethorn leaf miner Phyllonorycter leucographella can also cause upper-surface mines on various species in Rosaceae, but without the blackish frass grains.

Adult Leafmine

Found in various habitats.

Adults are at large in May and again in July/August.

Slightly unusually among Phyllonorycters, this species feeds on a fairly wide range of foodplants. Most other British species, apart from P. leucographella, are specific to one species (or at least genus) of foodplant. The mine is also unusual, in that it is found on the upperside of the leaf.  Typical foodplants are Hawthorn (Crataegus), Apple (Malus) and various Sorbus species such as Mountain Ash. The mine can be found in July and September to October.

The species is widely scattered throughout the British Isles. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.

Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland.

http://www.leafmines.co.uk/html/Lepidoptera/P.corylifoliella.htm

https://bladmineerders.nl/parasites/animalia/arthropoda/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/gracillarioidea/gracillariidae/lithocolletinae/phyllonorycter/phyllonorycter-corylifoliella/#:~:text=Contrary%20to%20Ph.,on%20top%20of%20a%20vein.