Aspen Serpentine Leafminer Moth

Phyllocnistis populiella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Gracillariidae

Also called: Common Aspen Leaf Miner

Damages trees, gardens or crops. The larvae feed on poplar leaves and can damage those trees.

Source: Wikipedia

Aspen Serpentine Leafminer Moth
Photo: Justin Paulin, CC BY

The Aspen Serpentine Leafminer Moth lives in northern parts of North America such as Alberta, Massachusetts, Ontario and Alaska. Its caterpillars eat the leaves of trembling aspen and balsam poplar, which can harm those trees.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae feed on trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and balsam poplar.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Native to the same northern North American regions.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 31 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Alaska, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Maine.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Aspen Serpentine Leafminer Moth photo 3
Photo: Alison Northup, CC BY
Aspen Serpentine Leafminer Moth photo 4
Photo: czernybug, CC BY
Aspen Serpentine Leafminer Moth photo 5
Photo: unknown, CC0
Aspen Serpentine Leafminer Moth photo 6
Photo: psweet, CC BY-SA

Same family (Gracillariidae)

Horse-chestnut LeafminerHorse-chestnut LeafminerCameraria ohridellaDamages trees, gardens or cropsLocust Digitate Leafminer MothLocust Digitate Leafminer MothParectopa robiniellaDamages trees, gardens or cropsPoison Ivy Leaf-miner MothPoison Ivy Leaf-miner MothCameraria guttifinitellaPhyllocnistis insignisPhyllocnistis insignisPhyllocnistis insignisDamages trees, gardens or crops

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllocnistis_populiella

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.