Seed-feeder
and case-bearer: The eggs are laid on the florets of goosefoot and orache (UKMoths).
Larva
feeds on seeds. The full-grown case is 6-7 mm long (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).
Pupation occurs in the case on the ground (UKMoths).
Adult:
The adult is illustrated in UKMoths.
The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts
elsewhere: Currently unknown.
Time
of year - larvae: September to October (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: July and August (UKMoths).
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Thought to be locally common
throughout most of the British Isles (UKMoths)
including Anglesey, Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire,
Cardiganshire, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Norfolk, East Ross,
East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Herefordshire, Huntingdonshire,
Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Leicestershire, Linlithgow, North Hampshire, North Somerset,
Outer Hebrides, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South-east Yorkashire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford,
Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Westmorland and Worcestershire (NBN
Atlas) and Ireland (Fauna Europaea).
Distribution
elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria,
Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French
mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia,
Macedonia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Russia
- North and South, Sardinia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland,
Sweden, The Netherlands and Ukraine. Also recorded in Near East
and North Africa (Fauna Europaea).
Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (NBDC interactive map).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Currently unknown.
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