Yorkshire Status: Very rare and very local resident.

This hornbeam-feeding species is a rarity in the county. The first record, was mentioned by Ash in The Naturalist "Lepidoptera at Skipwith in 1894". Curiously it was not included in Porritt's lists so he either overlooked it or it was considered unreliable. The next record was not until 2016 when moths were bred from mines at Market Weighton, with another record at the same site three years later. In 2020 mines were found on hornbeam at Studley Roger and the moth was identified from the pupal cremasters.

Adults, if you are lucky enough to see one, look rather like P. harrisella but have four (as opposed to three) costal strigulae. Many counties seem to accept records from leaf mines, but because of its scarcity here and the possibility of confusion with P. messaniella, we feel this is too risky. P. tenerella mines tend to be long and tubular, whereas P. messaniella mines are shorter and fatter. It isn't always that easy however. Hornbeams at Studley Royal produced both species and the mines appeared rather similar. Some literature says messaniella is rare on hornbeam, but it has been bred from hornbeam in Yorkshire far more often than tenerella.

	Mine: Moth needs to be reared and, in some cases, possibly dissected.

Recorded in 3 (2%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1894. Last Recorded in 2020. Additional Stats

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