Leaf-miner:
Makes long narrow galleries. The frass is distributed through the
mine and also some is ejected. The larvae may mine more than one
leaf (British
leafminers).
Elongate,
rather irregular blotch. Most frass is ejected, what remains is
concentrated in a few heaps. The larva makes several mines. Pupaton
outside the mine (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).
Head flattened, blackish brown with U-shaped marking. Body yellow, ventrally a light brown, more or less oblong, spot on each segment; prothoracic plate dark brown and divided into two irregular parts; anal plate almost colourless; thoracic legs very light brown (Koster, 2002c) (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.
Comments:
Festuca arundinacea is
treated as Schedonorus
arundinacea (Tall Fescue) by Stace (2010).
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts
elsewhere:
Time
of year - larvae: August-May (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: Currently unknown.
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Cambridgeshire,
Dorset, East Cornwall, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Herefordshire, Huntingdonshire, Merionethshire, North Hampshire, Pembrokeshire, West Cornwall and West Norfolk (NBN
Atlas). Prefers damp humid habitats eg woodland, fens etc
(British
leafminers).
See also British
leafminers distribution map.
Also
recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Fauna Europaea and National Biodiversity Data Centre Map).
Distribution
elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria,
Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia,
Finland, French mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Romania, Russia - East, Northwest and South, Slovakia, Spanish
mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and ? Yugoslavia (Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Currently unknown.
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