Sycamore Leaf Blotch Miner

Ectoedemia platanella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nepticulidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Sycamore Leaf Blotch Miner
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

The adult moth has a wingspan of about 5.5 to 7 mm. It lives in the eastern United States. Its larvae eat the leaves of plane trees (Platanus species).

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Adults measure 5.5 to 7 mm across the wings.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

The caterpillars feed on species of plane trees (Platanus).

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range is the eastern United States.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 25 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Alabama.

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

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Sycamore Leaf Blotch Miner photo 2
Photo: Katja Schulz, CC BY
Sycamore Leaf Blotch Miner photo 3
Photo: Senna Bryce Robeson, CC BY
Sycamore Leaf Blotch Miner photo 4
Photo: Cricket Raspet, CC BY
Sycamore Leaf Blotch Miner photo 5
Photo: David George, 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/Ectoedemia_platanella

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

Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.

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.