Pecan Serpentine Leafminer Moth

Stigmella juglandifoliella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nepticulidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Pecan Serpentine Leafminer Moth
Photo: CatherineK, CC BY-SA

The adult moth is very small, with a wingspan of about 3.5 to 3.8 mm. It lives in the United States, specifically in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. The caterpillars eat the leaves of pecan trees (Carya illinoinensis) and there are probably two generations each year.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Wingspan ranges from 3.5 to 3.8 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae feed on pecan trees (Carya illinoinensis).

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

There are probably two generations per year.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 21 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Virginia.

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

Source: GBIF

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

Months it is reported in the US

JFMAMJJASOND

Source: GBIF

More photos

Pecan Serpentine Leafminer Moth photo 2
Photo: CatherineK, CC BY-SA
Pecan Serpentine Leafminer Moth photo 3
Photo: Cecil Smith, CC BY
Pecan Serpentine Leafminer Moth photo 4
Photo: Cecil Smith, CC BY
Pecan Serpentine Leafminer Moth photo 5
Photo: Rose Zappa, CC BY

Same family (Nepticulidae)

Golden PigmyGolden PigmyStigmella aurellaDamages trees, gardens or cropsStigmella prunifoliella groupStigmella prunifoliella groupStigmella prunifoliellaDamages trees, gardens or cropsStigmella quercipulchella groupStigmella quercipulchella groupStigmella quercipulchellaStigmella intermediaStigmella intermediaStigmella rhoifoliellaStigmella rhoifoliellaAspen Petiole Gall MothAspen Petiole Gall MothEctoedemia populella

Sources

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

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

Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.

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.