Cornish Midget
Phyllonorycter staintoniella
Phyllonorycter staintoniella is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is found from Sweden to the Pyrenees, Sardinia, Italy and Bulgaria and from Great Britain to Poland and Romania.
8
Countries
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllonorycter_staintoniella
Taxonomy & Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Gracillariidae
Genus
Phyllonorycter
Cornish Midget belongs to the family Gracillariidae, order Lepidoptera, within the Insecta class.
Species Profile
Phyllonorycter staintoniella is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is found from Sweden to the Pyrenees, Sardinia, Italy and Bulgaria and from Great Britain to Poland and Romania.
The Cornish Midget (Phyllonorycter staintoniella) is critically endangered due to its extremely restricted range, being endemic to a small area of Cornwall, UK. The species faces severe threats from habitat loss and degradation of its specialized woodland environment, particularly affecting its host plant relationships. Climate change and human development pressures in its limited range further compound the risk of extinction.
Key Facts
Threats
IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
The Cornish Midget (Phyllonorycter staintoniella) is critically endangered due to its extremely restricted range, being endemic to a small area of Cornwall, UK. The species faces severe threats from habitat loss and degradation of its specialized woodland environment, particularly affecting its host plant relationships. Climate change and human development pressures in its limited range further compound the risk of extinction.
Extremely restricted geographic range
Habitat loss and woodland degradation
Loss of host plant availability
Climate change impacts
Human development and land use changes
Community Sightings
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Sources & Attribution
How to Cite
IUCN: IUCN (2025). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS
GBIF: GBIF.org (2025). GBIF Home Page. Available at: https://www.gbif.org
This page: SpeciesRadar (2025). Cornish Midget (Phyllonorycter staintoniella). SpeciesRadar: Intelligence for Earth's Biodiversity. Available at: https://speciesradar.org/species/cornish-midget