Food Plant: Lysimachia vulgaris (Yellow Loosestrife)

Mine: September-May

Notes: The larva makes small mines, during September and October, at the edge or tips of the leaves, which have brownish centres and small galleries leading off. The mines cause the leaf tip to curl (either upwards or downwards) and appear dark brown at the start turning to a lighter brown as they progress towards the leaf interior, ending in a lighter green where the larva is feeding. It looks as if the leaf tip has withered but, unlike such damage, the tip remains flexible due to internal silk produced by the larva. They live in this silken area and feed into the mesophyll and palisade of the leaf from here. Frass is scattered throughout the mine. After hibernation, in May, they mine the stems of young shoots and spin the terminal leaves together. A rare moth of Fenland. Found in wetlands in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. The larva is shown.

Data: 21.ix.2023, Wicken, Cambs., VC29

Image:© Rob Edmunds