Species Details

ABH: 15.081

BF: 359

Family: Gracillariidae

Subfamily: Lithocolletinae

Taxon: Phyllonorycter nicellii

Authority: (Stainton, 1851)

Vernacular: Hazel leaf-miner

Account: Common in woodland throughout much of the British Isles, but more plentiful in the south Imago similar to P. stettinensis, P. tristrigella, P. froelichiella and, especially, P. kleemannella. P. kleemannella and P. nicellii are two of the more difficult of the group to distinguish. P. kleemannella has a deeper orange ground colour, the fasciae are more shining and often bordered inwardly by a broad band of deep coppery brown rather than the brown irroration of P. nicellii; the first pair of strigulae rarely meet. In P. nicellii the first pair of strigulae often touch, forming a third angulated fascia (MBGBI Vol 2). Imago seldom encountered at light, and more likely to be recorded in the larval stage, when mines are relatively easy to find where they are present. Larva mines leaves of Hazel, over-wintering as a pupa in a cocoon.

Accounts provided by and used with the kind permission of Mike Wall, Hampshire County Moth Recorder. These will in due course be gradually replaced with species accounts with a Surrey context.

Wingspan: 7 — 8 mm

Surrey Flight Period: 18 Apr (2003) — 5 Aug (2002)

The flight period of overwintering adults are not given. See the flight chart below the distribution map.

Foodplant: Corylus sp.

Foodplant accounts are from the HOSTS database — Natural History Museum, London, UK. (CC0).

Status: Common

UK BAP:

WCA:

Moths

Click here to view the full geology map of Surrey.

Moths

Verification Grade: 2 — Care needed to identify, an image may be required 🤔

Further Information: https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/phyllonorycter-nicellii/

Statistics

* Based on adult records only.

Records: 196

Individuals: 0

Earliest Year: 1997

Latest Year: 2024