Phyllonorycter spinicolella - Distribution map

Please note that the NBN Gateway map service has been terminated as of 1 April 2017.

As soon as a replacement map service is available, distribution maps will hopefully appear here again.

In the meantime, you can get some idea of distribution from the NBN Atlas website.

View the NBN Atlas Map

15.049 BF329

Phyllonorycter spinicolella

(Zeller, 1846)


Wingspan 6-8 mm.

A common and widespread species throughout most of the British Isles. The adult moths are very similar in appearance to P. cerasicolella and the two species are best separated on the basis of foodplant, or by genitalia dissection.

The moths fly in two generations, in May and August, and the larvae feed on blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) or sometimes wild plum (Prunus domestica). On blackthorn the mines are narrow and cause the leaf to pucker strongly, often folding right over, and being whitish can resemble those of the blackthorn-feeding Parornix species.
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