Leaf-miner:
Egg generally at the upperside of the tip of a needle. The larva
spins a number of needles together in a more or less conical spinning,
then mines out one needle after the other. The larva enters and
leaves a needle through the same opening, mostly in the distal half
of the needle. Most frass is ejected, part of it is trapped in the
spinning. During feeding the larva pauses to rest in the mine. Most
mines in the older needles. Pupation external (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).
Body light green; head, pronotum and anal plate light brown; anal
comb present, brown, with 4-7 prongs; thoracic legs green; pinacula
brown (Bradley et al., 1979a; Patocka, 1960a) (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:
August - October; overwintering as larva, pupating in spring (Bladmineerders van Europa).
Time
of year - adults: Currently unknown.
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain including
Dorset, East Cornwall, Herefordshire, Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, Shropshire,
South Aberdeenshire, South Hampshire, Stafford, West Norfolk 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 Austria,
Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Danish
mainland, French mainland, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland,
Latvia, Luxembourg, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands
(Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
|