Food Plant: Carex flacca (Glaucous Sedge), other Carex species Elsewhere: Deschampsia cespitosa, Melica sp., Sesleria caerulea

Egg: laid on the leaf tip

Mine: September-April

Notes: May either make a short broad mine, which fills the leaf tip or a broader one which occupies half the leaf (between the midrib and leaf edge, as shown). There may be more than one mine in a leaf. The larva overwinters in the mine and extends it in the spring. Pupation occurs in the angle of a leaf, under a girdle. Found in chalky and sandy areas throughout Ireland and Britain. Pupae are often formed at the base of the mined leaf of the foodplant, as here on Carex flacca.

Data: 13.iv.2024, Bernwood Forest, Buckinghamshire, VC24

Image:© Will Langdon