Leaf-miner: The first instar larva tends to make a U-shaped mine, whereas later
larvae make irregular mines. Final instar larvae spin the leaves
together and feed in a silken tube amongst the seeds (British
leafminers).
Young
larvae make a short, spiralled corridor typically U-shaped). This
stage is followed by an irregular, sometimes branching, greenish-white
blotch. In their final stage the larva lives free in a silken tunnel
among the leaves (Bladmineerders van Europa).
The
mine is also illustrated in UKMoths.
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, UKMoths
and Bladmineerders van Europa.
Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).
Pupation in a cocoon of sand grains and detritus (British
leafminers).
Adult:
The adult is illustrated in UKMoths.
The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk. It can easily be confused with several other Scrobipalpa species, so examination of the genitalia is usually necessary, though
even then they can be difficult to determine (UKMoths).
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts elsewhere:
Time
of year - larvae: September - October (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: July and August (UKMoths).
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: One of the commonest
gelechid moths on saltings in the British Isles (UKMoths)
including Anglesey, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, East Cornwall, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Kincardineshire, Middlesex, North Aberdeenshire, North Essex, North Somerset, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Norfolk, Westmorland and Wigtownshire (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, Norwegian mainland, Poland,
Romania, Russia - South, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, 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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