Nepticulidae

04.010 Nut-tree Dot Stigmella microtheriella (Stainton, 1854)

Common

Similar species:

Forewing: 1.5 to 2mm

Habitats: Woodland, parks, hedgerows or wherever the foodplants are present.

Habits: The species is parthenogenetic.

Foodplant: The larva forms a long, narrow, hardly widening gallery mine. Hornbeam mines may follow a heavy vein over a long distance. Hazel mines are less restricted by the veins. S.microtheriella frass begins the mine in a narrow line. S.floslactella (which is found on the same foodplants), fills the entire corridor. On the European mainland it is also found on European Hop Hornbeam (native to Europe). It pupates in a cocoon in the leaf litter.