Leaf-miner
and case-bearer: As with other Coleophorids, the larva forms
a case from the leaf, in which it overwinters. The case formed by
this species is long, slender and frequently woolly in appearance
(UKMoths).
Bivalved
composite leaf case of 8-10 mm, rather strongly compressed and keeled,
with a mouth angle of 30-45° (Bladmineerders van Europa).
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).
The larva is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.
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.
The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts
elsewhere:
Time
of year - larvae: September to October, feeding again from April
to May (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: The adult moths flies in a single generation
emerging in June and July (UKMoths).
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: The moth is common in areas
where its hostplant grows, throughout the whole of Britain, except
the far north of Scotland (UKMoths)
including Anglesey, Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire,
Cardiganshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Norfolk,
East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sutherland, Elgin, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire,
Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Ebudes, North Somerset, Outer Hebrides, Pembrokeshire,
Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Devon, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire,
Stafford, Stirlingshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk, West Perthshire, West Suffolk, West Sutherland, Westerness, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and
Worcestershire (NBN
Atlas).
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, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania,
Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia North, Russia - South,
Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands. Also recorded
in Near East (Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
Myrica
gale, Salix
alba, Salix
aurita, Salix
babylonica, Salix
caprea, Salix
cinerea, Salix
fragilis, Salix
pentandra, Salix
repens, Salix
triandra, Salix
viminalis |
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
|