CreatureData

Garden midget

Phyllonorycter messaniella (Zeller, 1846)

Status not recordedbutterflies and moths

The garden midget (Phyllonorycter messaniella) is a species in the family Gracillariidae, order Lepidoptera.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the garden midget

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the garden midget live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the garden midget as introduced in 2 countries.

  1. Australia
  2. Ireland

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the garden midget endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the garden midget classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderLepidoptera
  5. familyGracillariidae
  6. genusPhyllonorycter
  7. SpeciesPhyllonorycter messaniella (Zeller, 1846)

Synonyms Lithocolletis messaniella

Other names and names in other languages (4)
  • European oak leafminerEnglish
  • gesztenye-sátorosmolyHungarian
  • VeelvraatvouwmotDutch
  • steneksguldmalSwedish

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the garden midget

Other species in the same genus Phyllonorycter.

Hawthorn midget

Phyllonorycter corylifoliella

GracillariidaeNo free photo yet

London midget

Phyllonorycter platani

GracillariidaeNo free photo yet

CompareGarden midget vs Hawthorn midgetGarden midget vs London midgetGarden midget vs Brown apple midgetGarden midget vs Lime leafminer

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the garden midget an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the garden midget as introduced in 2 countries: Australia and Ireland, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the garden midget?

The garden midget (Phyllonorycter messaniella) belongs to the family Gracillariidae in the order Lepidoptera.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Garden midget (Phyllonorycter messaniella). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/garden-midget

MLA

“Garden midget (Phyllonorycter messaniella).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/garden-midget.

BibTeX
@misc{garden_midget_2026,
  title = {Garden midget (Phyllonorycter messaniella)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/garden-midget},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}