Leaf-mine: The mine is underside, between veins, narrow and close to midrib (British leafminers).

Often there are several to one leaf, and have a distinct brown tinge (UKMoths).

Elongated, lower-surface, in the end tubular contracted tentiform mine, usualy starting at a small distance from the midrib. The lower epidermis with many weak wrinkles but no clear folds. Often several mines in a leaf. All frass is accumulated in an angle of the mine. Pupa in a white cocoon that is free from frass (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: The larva is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Phyllonorycter strigulatella larva, dorsal Image: Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Pupa: The pupa is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa and illustrated in British leafminers.

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths and the Encyclopedia of Life. The genitalia are not illustrated by the Lepidoptera Dissection Group (check for update).

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

Time of year - larvae: July, September - October (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Two generations, flying in May and late July and August (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Occurs in widely separated colonies around its foodplant Grey Alder. It is known from a few isolated places ranging from north-west Britain, through Wales and down to East Anglia and southern Britain (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Ayrshire, Bedfordshire, East Kent, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sutherland, Easterness, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Huntingdonshire, Middlesex, North Ebudes, North Somerset, Shropshire, South Lancaster, South Wiltshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk and Worcestershire (NBN Gateway - N.B. includes Watsonian Vice Counties having publicly available records that fall within or overlap the vice county border at 10km resolution or better i.e. a record for a vice county may relate to an adjacent vice county - for included datasets see NBN Grid map below). See also British leafminers distribution map.

It can be locally very common where it occurs (UKMoths).

NBN Grid map: Note that not all datasets on the NBN Gateway may be available on the map below. If you are an NBN Gateway registered user you can request access for missing datasets via the link 'Open interactive map in new window' below.

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corsica, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central, East, North and Northwest, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine. Also recorded in East Palaearctic (Karsholt and van Nieukerken in Fauna Europaea).

NBN interactive distribution map(s) of known host species in Great Britain and Ireland and elsewhere:

Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: