013 Bucculatrix demaryella

BUCCULATRICIDAE

14.013 Bucculatrix demaryella (Birch Tuft)

ws: 8-9mm; May-Jun; leaf mine Aug, birch (Betula spp), hazel (Corylus avellana), sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa); common in open woodland, heaths, moors, bogs with birch throughout UK

Bucculatrix demaryella §3

ID: General forewing colour ranges from mid to dark brown with a pattern of oblique pale lines similar to that seen in several other species. The head tuft is similar in colour to the forewing. B.ulmella has an ochreous head tuft strongly contrasting with the dark brown forewing colour. B.bechstseinella and B.ulmifoliae have a black streak at ~¾ (~level with the tornus). B.albedinella also has this streak but has an additional streak at the apex. B.bechsteinella and B.albedinella usually have a whitish thorax. Some individuals will need genital determination.
Male genitalia:
Female genitalia:

Variation
DIssection
Male genitalia
Female genitalia

§1 Kinlochleven, Argyll; 02/07/2011
§2 Kinlochleven, Argyll; 04/07/2011
§3 Kinlochleven, Argyll; 04/07/2011
§4 Kinlochleven, Argyll; 04/07/2011; female
§5 Kinlochleven, Argyll; 04/07/2011; female
§6 Kinlochleven, Argyll; 04/07/2011; male
§7 Kinlochleven, Argyll; 04/07/2011; male
§8 Orlestone Forest, Kent; 04/06/2019; female; fw 3.5mm
All images © Chris Lewis

§9 Cliburn Moss, Cumbria; 24/06/2019; male
§10 Cliburn Moss, Cumbria; 24/06/2019; male; fw 4.0mm
§11 Arrochar, Argyll; 11/06/2021; male; fw 4.5mm; to light
§12 Loch Rannoch, Perthshire; 12/06/2021; male; fw 4.1mm
§13 Stour Wood, Essex; 06/06/2021; male; fw 4.0mm
§14 Tulloch Moor, Inverness-shire; 29/05/2025