Scrobipalpa acuminatella

A variable moth with an overall brown appearance but this colour is flecked with chestnut and darker specks.

This species occupies rough and open ground where thistles abound.

Generally there are two generations, with adults on the wing in April to June and again in July to September.

The larvae mine the leaves of various thistles (Carduus and Cirsium), forming a pale, sometimes slightly inflated blotch.

Widely distributed across much of the British Isles. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.

It appears to be uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland, where there are few records. L&R Moth Group status = D (rare or rarely recorded).