Bucculatrix cidarella

Bucculatrix cidarella is a moth of the family Bucculatricidae. It is found in most of Europe (except the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula), Kazakhstan and Japan (Honshu).^[1] It was described in 1839 by Philipp Christoph Zeller.

Alder leaf mined and gnawed

Externally feeding larva

Bucculatrix cidarella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Bucculatricidae
Genus:	Bucculatrix
Species:	B. cidarella
Binomial name
Bucculatrix cidarella (Zeller, 1839)
Synonyms
Lyonetia cidarella Zeller, 1839

The wingspan is 8–9 mm. The head is dull ferruginous, mixed with fuscous in middle. Antennal eyecaps white. Forewings are dark fuscous; two whitish costal spots before middle and at 3/4, and two on dorsum somewhat anterior to these; cilia ochreous-tinged. Hindwings are grey. The larva is yellowish -green, anteriorly reddish-tinged; dorsal line darker; dots whitish. The head is pale brown.^[2][3]

Adults are on wing May to June. At times there is a second generation in August.The larvae create a gallery mine in the leaves of alder, including common alder (Alnus glutinosa), grey alder (Alnus incana), green alder (Alnus viridis) or myrtle (Myrica gale).