Stigmella poterii

Stigmella poterii is a moth of the family Nepticulidae. It is found from Fennoscandia to the Pyrenees and Italy, and from Ireland to Ukraine.[1]

A leaf of Poterium sanguisorba with several mined leaflets

Larva

Stigmella poterii
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nepticulidae
Genus:	Stigmella
Species:	S. poterii
Binomial name
Stigmella poterii = (Stainton, 1857)
Synonyms
Nepticula poterii Stainton, 1857 Nepticula comari Wocke, 1862 Nepticula diffinis Wocke, 1874 Nepticula elisabethella Szocs, 1957 Nepticula geminella Frey, 1870 Nepticula occultella Heinemann, 1871 Nepticula palustrella Frey, 1870 Nepticula poteriella Doubleday, 1859 Nepticula serella Stainton, 1888 Nepticula tengstroemi Nolcken, 1871 Stigmella tengstroemi Stigmella serella

The wingspan is 3–5 millimetres (0.12–0.20 in).The thick erect hairs on the head vertex are ferruginous and the collar dark brown Antennal eyecaps are whitish. Forewings are golden-bronze; a pale golden metallic slightly inwards-oblique fascia beyond middle : apical area beyond this dark purple-fuscous. Hindwings are grey.[2]

Adults fly in June, then a second generation in August and September.

The larva is amber yellow in colour and has a brown-coloured head.[3] It feeds on Filipendula ulmaria, Potentilla anserina, Potentilla erecta, Potentilla palustris, Potentilla tabernaemontani, Rubus arcticus, Rubus chamaemorus, Rubus saxatilis, Sanguisorba minor and Sanguisorba officinalis. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a short corridor. The first part is narrow and tends to follow a vein. The second part is considerably widened and often forms a secondary blotch.[4]