Grass-spinner: The larva spins grass blades and feeds inside the spiral spinning,
causing whitening of the grass blade tip. It changes leaves several
times in the course of its development (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).
The striking black and white striped larva is described and
illustrated in British
leafminers and UKMoths.
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 and the Encyclopedia
of Life. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts elsewhere:
Time
of year - larvae: April-July (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: The nocturnal adults fly between June and
August (UKMoths).
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Occurring in England and Wales
(UKMoths),
including Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Denbighshire,
Derbyshire, Dorset, Durham, East Cornwall, East Kent,
East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kirkudbrightshire, Leicestershire, Merionethshire,
Middlesex, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Lincolnshire, North Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, South Devon, South Essex,
South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Somerset, South Wiltshire,
South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, South Northumberland, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire,
West Kent, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, West Sussex, Westmorland and Worcestershire (NBN
Atlas) and the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea).
Also
recorded in Republic of Ireland (UKMoths;
Fauna Europaea and NBDC interactive map.
Distribution
elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria,
Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland,
French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland,
Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norwegian mainland,
Poland, Romania, Russia - Central, East and North, Slovakia, Spanish
mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Currently unknown.
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