Twig-miner: Forms an inflated mine in the green bark of a twig, 15 - 25 mm long.
The mine turns brown/grey and is found near to the end of a twig,
often on a small plant (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).
The cremaster is illustrated in British
leafminers.
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: September - May (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: The adult moths occur from late May to July
and are most easily found by tapping bushes of the foodplant (UKMoths).
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Although distributed fairly
widely across much of Britain (UKMoths)
including Denbighshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, Elgin,
Glamorgan, Kincardineshire, North Aberdeenshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Hampshire,
Stafford, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk and West Suffolk (NBN
Atlas).
See also British
leafminers distribution map.
This
is a species not easily encountered. Other members of the genus
can be located by their leafmines, but the twig mines are very hard
to find (UKMoths).
Also
recorded in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (Fauna Europaea and National Biodiversity Data Centre Map).
Distribution
elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Belgium,
Czech Republic, Danish mainland, French mainland, Germany, Italian
mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Russia - Central, Slovakia,
The Netherlands and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
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