Leaf-miner: The larva starts making a corridor of a few mm, followed, and
mostly overrun, by a circular blotch of 4-5 mm diameter (Bladmineerders van Europa).
Generally
several larvae feed in a single leaf, creating a distinctive pattern
of feeding windows. The larvae then cut out circular cases and drop
to the leaf-litter to continue feeding, leaving behind a leaf containing
many circular or oval cut-outs (UKMoths).
The
mine is also illustrated in 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 larva is illustrated in British
leafminers and 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.
The ovipositor comb of pectinea is illustrated in British
leafminers alongside oehmanniella and masculella.
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts
elsewhere:
Time
of year - larvae: May-June (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: Flying in April and May (UKMoths).
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Widely distributed throughout
much of the British Isles (UKMoths)
including Banffshire, Berwickshire, Caernarvonshire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sussex, East Sutherland, Easterness,
Elgin, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Linlithgow, North Aberdeenshire,
North Northumberland, North Somerset, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire,
South Devon, South Hampshire, South Northumberland, South Wiltshire, South-west Yorkshire,
Stafford, Stirlingshire, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Perthshire, West Ross, West Suffolk, West Sutherland, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN
Atlas).
Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (National Biodiversity Data Centre Map).
Distribution
elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania,
Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland,
Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland,
Kaliningrad Region, Latvia, Lithuania, ? Luxembourg, Macedonia,
Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central, East, North
and Northwest, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and
The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
Acer
monspessulanum, Alnus
glutinosa, Alnus
incana, Betula
pendula, Betula
pubescens, Carpinus
betulus, Cornus
sanguinea, Corylus
avellana, Malus
sylvestris, Ostrya
carpinifolia, Pyrus
communis, Robinia
pseudoacacia, Tilia
cordata |
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
|