Seed-feeder
and case-bearer: The larva feeding on the developing seeds and building a case closely
resembling a floret of the foodplant (UKMoths)
and only forms a case in the forth instar.
The
case is 6mm long and turns red-brown (British
leafminers).
Larva: The larvae of moths have a head capsule and chewing mouthparts with opposable mandibles (see video of a gracillarid larva feeding), six thoracic legs and abdominal legs (see examples).
Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).
Adult:
The adult is illustrated in UKMoths, Belgian Lepidoptera and the Encyclopedia
of Life. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.
Comments:
One of several British species of Coleophora with bronzy
metallic forewings.
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts
elsewhere:
Time
of year - larvae: July - September, then overwintering (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: The adults fly in grassy habitats during June
and July and can be attracted to light UKMoths
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: The species was only separated
from C. frischella in 1976 and so the distribution detail
is unclear but potentially includes the post-1976 records from Anglesey, Bedfordshire,
Caernarvonshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Norfolk, Glamorgan,
Herefordshire, Hertfordhsire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Leiestershire, Middlesex, North Hampshire, North Somerset, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Essex, Stafford, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk and West Suffolk (NBN
Atlas).
Also Chorlton, Manchester (British
leafminers) and Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea).
Coleophora
frischella (Small Clover Case-bearer), which is also a seed
feeder in various clovers, has a fairly similar distribution (see
NBN
Atlas) and itself has been confused with Coleophora
alcyonipennella (HantsMoths)
Also
recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Fauna Europaea and National Biodiversity Data Centre Map).
Distribution
elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania,
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland,
French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland,
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norwegian mainland, Poland,
Romania, Russia - Central and South, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia,
Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).
Also
recorded in East Palaearctic, Near East and Nearctic region (Fauna Europaea). NBN Atlas links to known host species:
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
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