Chrysoesthia sexguttella

Alternative names
Orange-spotted Miner
Six-spot Neb
Six-spot Crest
Description

Wingspan 8 to 10 mm.  The larva mines the leaves of Goosefoot (Chenopodium) and Orache (Atriplex) and other plants in this family, creating a clear blotch mine with black frass in large lumps

Similar Species

Some species of fly also mine Chenopodiaceae, and mines can be similar

Identification difficulty

Adult leaf mine

Recording advice

Backlit image of mine; note host species

Habitat

Roadside verges, disturbed and waste areas where the larval foodplants Orache, Fat-hen and Goosefoots are found.

When to see it

A bivoltine species, with adults on the wing in May and June, then again in August.

Life History

The larva is a leaf-miner, creating whitish blotches in the leaves of the foodplants Orache, Fat-hen and Goosefoots.

UK Status

Widely distributed throughout the British Isles, and common in some places. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

VC55 Status

Most frequently recorded as a leafmine record in Leicestershire and Rutland.

Reference
35.036 BF747

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Six-spot Neb
Species group:
insect - moth
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Gelechiidae
Records on NatureSpot:
18
First record:
23/08/2018 (Calow, Graham)
Last record:
01/10/2025 (Timms, Sue)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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