Food Plant: Cytisus scoparius (Broom), Genista tinctoria (Dyer's Greenweed)

Egg: laid on a leaf

Mine: Sept-June

Notes: Feeding starts in the autumn, in a minute case made from leaf fragments. After overwintering it mines leaves, especially from the tip. As it enlarges the case it develops a girdle of leaf fragments, which project upwards, making a herring-bone appearance. The final case, around 8mm long, on Cytisus is brown (ageing to dark grey - as shown in this old case) and yellow-brown on Genista. Pupation occurs on the stem, often high up and in sunshine (the case shown was on Cytisus, fixed prominently up on the stem). Found on Broom on heaths and commons and open woodland and on Dyer's Greenweed on rough pastures.

Data: 31.vii.2021, Dungeness, Kent, VC15

Image:© Will Langdon