Stigmella aceris

Alternative names
Maple Dot
Scarce Maple Pigmy
Description

Wingspan 3.7 to 4.7mm.

Identification difficulty

Adult Leafmine

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

Leafmine occurs on Field Maple (and sometimes on Norway Maple). http://www.leafmines.co.uk/html/Lepidoptera/S.aceris.htm

Habitat

Found in woodland, gardens, hedgerows and parkland in areas where Field Maple is present.

When to see it

Bivoltine May-Jun and again in August.

Life History

The larvae mine the leaves of Field Maple from end of June-early July, then in August-early September.

UK Status

Formerly a very rare in Britain (as recently as the 1980s) it is now becoming more frequent and has reached the English Midlands. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.but is probably now common in many areas.

VC55 Status

Not recorded in VC55 until 4th October 2018 (from Geeston). It is increasingly well recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland in recent years, usually from the leafmines on Field Maple and Norway Maple.- it is quite common in our area.

Reference
4.012 BF102

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
Scarce Maple Pigmy
Species group:
Moths
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Nepticulidae
Records on NatureSpot:
142
First record:
08/10/2018 (Russell, Adrian)
Last record:
26/10/2024 (Graves, Hazel)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

The latest images and records displayed below include those awaiting verification checks so we cannot guarantee that every identification is correct. Once accepted, the record displays a green tick.

In the Latest Records section, click on the header to sort A-Z, and again to sort Z-A. Use the header boxes to filter the list.

Latest images

Latest records