Common in woodland, gardens, orchards and parks throughout much of southern England, with records north to Yorkshire. Widespread and common in the urban areas of south Hampshire and across the Isle of Wight, but in the north of the county more thinly distributed. Wingspan 4-5 mm. Adults difficult to distinguish from other Stigmella species, and more frequently recorded in the larval stage, which mines the leaves of Sycamore, over-wintering as a pupa.