Food Plant: Poaceae such as Dactylis spp., Festuca spp., Holcus mollis (Creeping Soft grass), Hordelymus europaeus (Wood Barley)

Egg: laid near the leaf tip

Mine: September - April

Notes: The mine is intially narrow extending from the leaf tip. It then widens with irregular edges, with scattered patches of uneaten tissue in the mine. There may be more than one larva in the mine. Pupation occurs in a slight web on detritus but may also occur in broken stems of umbellifers. Found widely particularly in woodland clearings and margins. A close-up of a larva fixed for pupation after mining Hordelymus europaeus, the dense silken cocoon that usually covers the pupa has been removed for photography.

Data: 16.ii.2023, Aston Rowant NNR, Oxfordshire,VC23

Image:© Will Langdon