FFood Plant: Phragmites australis (Common Reed)

Mine: August-April

Notes: A straight mine which widens. Frass is at one end of the mine and also ejected. Usually one mine in a leaf, but may be more . The larva spins a tube at the base of the mine and hides there. The larva overwinters in the mine. First discovered in 1996 in Dorset. Seems to prefer drier situations such as Alder carr. A young larva is shown in an initial mine on Phragmites australis in late summer. This has a dark prothoracic plate which older larvae lack.

Data: 11.viii.2022, Dungeness Bird Observatory, Kent, VC15

Image:© Will Langdon