Bug FAQHazel Leafminer Moth
Stigmella microtheriella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nepticulidae
Also called: Nut-tree Pigmy, Hazel leafminer
Source: Wikipedia
Adult hazel leafminer moths have a wingspan of about three to four millimetres and show a purplish-brown forewing with a slanted shiny white band beyond the middle. They are found throughout Europe and also occur in Asia and New Zealand, where the larvae mine the leaves of hazel and hornbeam, causing leaf damage.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The head is a yellowish ochre colour with a similarly pale collar. The forewings are dark purplish-brown with a noticeable oblique shining white band past the centre.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The moth’s wingspan measures roughly three to four millimetres.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Larvae live inside the leaves of hazel (Corylus) and hornbeam (Carpinus) trees, creating mines.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Eggs are laid on the underside of hazel or sometimes hornbeam leaves, near a leaf rib. The hatched larvae feed by mining the leaves of hazel and hornbeam.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are active in May and again in August. The species reproduces without mating (parthenogenetically).
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
You can see adult moths flying in late spring and late summer.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
This species occurs across all of Europe. It is also recorded from Asia and New Zealand.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 6 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Oregon, Washington, California, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants do the larvae feed on?
The larvae mine the leaves of hazel and hornbeam trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nepticulidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmella_microtheriella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-28 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-28.