Food Plant: Centaurea nigra (Knapweed)

Egg: Laid on a lower leaf

Mine: August-May

Notes: Initially it makes a small blotch mine which it then cuts out and uses as a case. It extends the case to about 4mm long and overwinters. In late April it resumes feeding and enlarges the case which is finally about 15 mm long, black, slightly glossy and slender. It is slightly curved and has a thin dorsal keel. Many larvae may be found feeding on a leaf. Found in the south east, in open scrubland, fields and grassy southern facing slopes. A developing case is shown, on Centarea jacea

National Status: pRDB2

Bradley No: 539

Data: 16.v.2015, de Oude Briquetterie van Rome~Durbuy, (Luxemburg), Belgium

Image:© Carina van Steenwinkel