Stigmella splendidissimella (Herrich-Schaeffer, 1855)
glossy bramble pigmy

Fragaria vesca, Belgium, prov. Namur, Furfooz, Parc National de Furfooz © Stéphane Claerebout

same mine, lighted from behind

Fragaria vesca, Germany (Baden-Württemberg), Baden-Weiler

Geum urbanum, Nieuwendam

detail of the mine on top

Rubus fruticosus, Belgium, prov. Namur, Couvin, Ry de Pernelle © Stéphane Claerebout

same mine, lighted from behind

Rubus fruticosus, Duin en Kruidberg
mine
Oviposition generally at the leaf upper side, not especially close to a vein. From there a long and slender corridor starts, with frass usually a narrow central line. The corridor often crosses itself, but rarely a thick vein.
host plants
Rosaceae, oligophagous
Agrimonia eupatoria; Argentina anserina; Fragaria vesca; Filipendula vulgaria; Geum rivale, urbanum; Rubus caesius, fruticosus, idaeus.
phenology
Larvae in July and September-October (Emmet, 1983a).
BENELUX
BE recorded (De Prins, 1998a).
NE recorded (Kuchlein & de Vos, 1999a; Microlepidoptera.nl, 2008).
LUX recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2008).
distribution within Europe
From Scandinavia to Italy, and from Ireland to the Crimea; not in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkan (Fauna Europaea, 2008).
larva
synonyms
Nepticula splendidissimella. Emmet (1973-74, 1983a) which much hesitation, considers the form on Strawberry a distinct species, S. dulcella (Heinemann, 1862); most modern authors, including Johansson ao (199oa) and Kuchlein & de Vos (1999a) take it as a synonym of S. splendidissimella.
notes
The mine strongly overlaps with the one made by S. aurella. Koster, Bryan & Povel (1984a) have attempted to find a diagnose that in the most difficult situation, mines on Rubus, maximizes the chance of a correct identification. For S. splendidissimella this runs, in decreasing order of importance: frass in second half of the mine maximally half as wide as the corridor; frass in first cm maximally half as wide as corridor; mine makes a turn in its first cm; corridor often crosses itself; corridor rarely crosses the midrib.
references
Anisimovas, Diškus & Stonis (2006a), Beiger (1955a, 1960a, 1979a), Bengtsson (2008a), Borkowski (1969a), Buhr (1936a, 1964a), Buszko & Baraniak (1989a), Černý (2001a), Csóka (2003a), Diškus & Stonis (2012a), Drăghia (1968a, 1971a, 1972a), Emmet (1973-74a, 1983a), van Frankenhuyzen & Houtman (1972a), van Frankenhuyzen Houtman & Kabos (1982a), Gustafsson (1985a), Gustafsson & van Nieukerken (1990a), Haase (1942a), Hartig (1939a), Hering (1934a, 1957a), Huber (1969a), Huemer (1988a), Huemer & Erlebach (2003a), Johansson ao (1990a), Klimesch (1950c, 1958c, 1981a), Koster, Bryan & Povel (1984a), Kuchlein & Donner (1993a), Kuchlein & de Vos (1999a), Kurz (2016a), Laštuvka & Laštuvka (1997), Lhomme (1934d), Maček (1999a), Matošević, Pernek, Dubravac & Barić (2009a), Michalska (1970a, 1972a, 1976a), Michna (1975a), Navickaitė, Diškus & Stonis (2011a, 2014a), van Nieukerken (1986a), van Nieukerken, A & Z Laštuvka (2006a), van Nieukerken, Mutanen & Doorenweerd (2012a), Nowakowski (1954a), De Prins (2007a), Robbins (1991a), Skala (1939a, 1941a, 1951a), Sønderup (1949a), Stammer (2016a), Starý (1930a), Steuer (1995a), Stonis, Navickaitė, Rocienė ao (2013a), Surányi (1942a), Szőcs (1977a, 1978a, 1981a), Ureche (2010a), Yefremova & Kravchenko (2015a), Zoerner (1969a, 1970a).