Food Plant: Acer pseudoplatanus (Sycamore)

Egg: laid on the wing of a samara in June, whereas in late summer it is laid on a bud, which develops next spring.

Mine: Sept-May; July

Notes: In the spring the larvae eat out a flower bud, whereas the summer generation are said to eat the seeds in a samara. The mined wings of a samara are very rarely seen (due to being high up in the tree? (Robbins, 1989)). The position of the egg is indicated, with the gallery leading off left, towards the seed. Mostly this species is encountered as an adult.

Data: 04.viii.2020, Lower Stondon, Bedfordshire, VC30 Andy & Melissa Banthorpe

Image:© Melissa Banthorpe