Stigmella trimaculella

    Three-spot Dot

    NepticulidaeABH 4.039 B&F 73

    A leaf-miner on Black Poplar and (more usually in Somerset) hybrid poplars.  Most records are from the Levels and low-lying areas in the south of the county.  It is absent from the Mendips, where the foodplant is entirely absent, and scarce in the north of the county, again reflecting the relative rarity of the tree.  Unsurprisingly, it is absent from Exmoor, other than from a series of records in the Porlock area, but might be expected from the low-lying coastal areas between Minehead and Dunster.

    Mine Verification Grade: A

    Black-poplar Pigmy (Stigmella trimaculella) photographed in Somerset by Christopher Iles
    Black-poplar Pigmy (Stigmella trimaculella) photographed in Somerset by Christopher Iles