Coarse Hazel Pigmy

Stigmella floslactella, the coarse-hazel pigmy, is a tiny moth in the family Nepticulidae, one of the smallest moth families in the world. This diminutive lepidopteran is native to northwestern and northern Europe, with confirmed records from Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, where it is associated primarily with hazel (Corylus avellana) and occasionally other deciduous trees in the birch family (Betulaceae). The larvae are leaf miners, spending their early development inside the leaf tissue of the host plant and creating characteristic serpentine or blotch-shaped mines visible on the leaf surface as whitish, contorted trails. Adult nepticulids are extraordinarily small, with wingspans often less than 5 millimeters, and carry metallic or golden head scales that catch the light. The genus Stigmella is the largest in the family, comprising several hundred species globally, each typically associated with a limited number of host plant species. The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, being relatively common across its European range wherever hazel woodland, coppice, hedgerow, and scrub habitats provide suitable host plants. Its small size and cryptic life history mean populations are rarely surveyed systematically, but it remains regularly recorded by specialist lepidopterists.