Stigmella aurella (Fabricius, 1775)
Diagnosis. S. aurella differs from S. splendidissimella (with which it frequently has been confused) in usually having yellowish head, golden brown thorax and forewing base (greenish golden in splendidissimella) and almost black distal third of forewing. The male genitalia of aurella differ in shorter vinculum, uncus and valvae and aedeagus with longer, thinner and more numerous cornuti; the female genitalia differ in having less swollen vestibulum, less conspicuous spines in ductus spermathecae and lack of pectinations on corpus bursae.
Male. Wingspan: 5.0-6.0 mm. Head: frontal tuft and vertex varying from ochreous orange to dark brown; collar coppery to dark brown, shining. Scape small, pale yellow to pale brown, lustrous; antenna three-fifths of forewing length, dark grey-brown. Thorax golden bronze to dark brown, brightly shining. Forewing: area proximal to fascia dark golden bronze to copper-brown, brightly shining, at costa and extreme base often with blue or purplish reflection; fascia distinct, shining golden; distal to fascia deep blue-black, shining; terminal cilia dark grey-brown. Hindwing and cilia grey-brown. Abdomen lustrous black with ochreous to brownish anal tuft. Female. Wingspan: 5.5-6.5 mm. Usually slightly darker and larger than male. Male genitalia. Vinculum moderately long; anterior margin with shallow to moderately deep emargination. Uncus short, with distinct medial notch and indistinct paramedial notches. Valva broad and short, usually not reaching to hind margin of uncus; distal process pointed, at right angle to inner lobe. Transtilla with distinct sublateral processes. Juxta present. Aedeagus bottleshaped, 1.5 length of genital capsule; with 12-15 pointed cornuti near tip, proximal part with numerous needle-shaped cornuti. Female genitalia. Corpus bursae long and slender, without pectinations. Vestibulum not or only slightly swollen. Accessory sac long. Ductus spermathecae with distinct spines in proximal portion. Apophyses slender and pointed; posteriores longest.
Host plants: Rubus fruticosus, R. caesius and closely related Rubus spp., Fragaria, Geum and Agrimonia, in Greece also on Geranium versicolor. Egg: usually laid on underside of leaf. Larva: yellow. Mine : a long, irregular gallery; frass in a broad central line in the first part, more scattered in last part. The mines are variable and cannot be reliably separated from those of S. splendidissimella. The mines of S. auromarginella are shorter and darker than those of aurella. Cocoon: brown.
Not in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. - Widely distributed from the Mediterranean to near The Baltic; widely distributed in Ireland and Great Britain.
Voltinism: in central Europe two or more generations per year. In southern Europe, France and England continuously brooded.
Description based on Johansson and Nielsen (1990)
