New Holm-Oak Pigmy

An adventive species that has recently arrived in Somerset, mining the leaves of Holm Oak <i>Quercus ilex</i> (and possibly other evergreen oaks), usually in considerable numbers with every leaf on the tree being tenanted by several larvae.&nbsp; Unlike many leaf-miners, the species overwinters as a larva, continuing to feed throughout.&nbsp; First found around Bath, it has expanded rapidly though unevenly across much of the county.&nbsp; The foodplant, Holm Oak, is not native but was a popular planted tree in large Victorian gardens, parks and cemeteries, and these are ideal locations to look for the moth.&nbsp; Towns such as Minehead, Clevedon and Burnham-on-Sea should be suitable places for the moth, and it ought to be recorded from there soon.

Virgin Pigmy

A leaf-miner of Aspen Populus tremula, a scarce plant in Somerset.&nbsp; The mines of this moth are only visible for a short while during the later stages of larval development, so it can be hard to record.&nbsp; It does not occur wherever Aspen can be found, but on some sites can be found in good numbers.<br>

Five-spot Pigmy

Surprisingly scarce for a miner of oak that is relatively easy to identify, with just nine records to date, most from the Taunton area but with a few around Midsomer Norton.&nbsp; There seems no obvious reason why it should not occur more widely.<br>

Ectoedemia quinquella

Five-spot Pigmy