4.045 BF50

Stigmella aurella

(Fabricius, 1775)

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Wingspan 6-7 mm.

The large group of moths known as the Nepticulidae are all very tiny, and because of the way their larvae feed internally on leaves, they are known as leaf-miners. The shape of the pale gallery or blotch created by the larva as it feeds is usually a better means of identification than comparing the adult moths.

The foodplant is bramble (Rubus), and the adults, with a wingspan of only 6mm, have a metallic sheen and fly in May and later in the summer.

This species is probably the commonest and most widespread in the British Isles, and its whitish mines are a familiar sight on bramble leaves everywhere.