Stigmella samiatella

Wingspan 5 to 7 mm. This tiny purple-bronze moth is a member of the unicolorous ruficapitella group of Nepticulidae. The larva creates a quite long and contorted gallery mine in oak (Quercus) or sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa), with the frass dispersed in the early stages, then in a narrow central line towards the last part.

Other Stigmella on Oak

Adult Leafmine (Sw Ches) (Oak)

Can be recorded on Sweet Chestnut; mines on oak cannot be recorded unless adults have been reared and identified.  

Where the larval foodplants occur.

Adults in June and from July to August.

There are two generations, creating leaf mines in June/July and September/October.

This species was until recently poorly recorded in Britain. As more studies have been undertaken, it has been found to be more widely present than previously thought. In the Butterfly Conservation’'s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

It appears to be uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland, where there are few records. L&R Moth Group status = D (rare or rarely recorded).

http://www.leafmines.co.uk/html/Lepidoptera/S.samiatella.htm

https://bladmineerders.nl/parasites/animalia/arthropoda/insecta/lepidoptera/monotrysia/nepticuloidea/nepticulidae/stigmella/stigmella-samiatella/