Leaf-miner: The larva mines young leaves and the narrow initial mine ends
in a blotch. The larva cuts out a section of the leaf and over winters
in this on the ground (British
leafminers).
Long,
very narrow corridor that may wind several times through the leaf,
freely crossing the midrib. The corridor often cuts off parts of
the leaf, that die as a result. The corridor does not increase in
width, until it abruptly widens into an irregular elongate blotch.
In the end of the blotch an oval excision is made, c. 4 mm long,
in which the larva drops to the ground for pupation. Mines in the
very youngest leaves (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).
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 by Jon Baker.
The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts elsewhere:
Time
of year - larvae: July - August (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: The adults fly in May and June, and can sometimes
be found in daylight around birches on heaths. It is also attracted
to light (UKMoths).
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Distributed throughout the British
Isles (UKMoths)
including (UKMoths)
including Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Berwickshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire,
Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sutherland, Easterness, Elgin, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Isle of Wight,
Kincardineshire, Kirkudbrightshire, Linlithgow, Main Argyll, Merionethshire, Mid-west Yorkshire, Montgomeryshire,
North Aberdeenshire, North Devon, North Ebudes, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Devon, South Somerset,
South Northumberland, South Wiltshire, Stafford, Stirlingshire, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk, West Perthshire, West Ross, Westmorland and
Worcestershire (NBN
Atlas).
See also British
leafminers distribution map.
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 Austria,
Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French
mainland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, ? Luxembourg, Norwegian
mainland, Poland, Russia - Central, North and Northwest, Sweden,
Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
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