Leaf-mine: A lower surface mine. Pupation normally in the ground (Spencer, 1976: 202).

Broad, usually lower-surface corridor in the blade, generally first rising, then descending. Mostly one larva in a mine, but sometimes several mines on a leaf may merge. Frass in grains that gradually become both larger and more widely spaced. Pupation outside the mine (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: The yellow larva is described by de Meijere (1938), Nowakowski (1973) and (Dempewolf (2001: 119).

Posterior spiracles with a circle of 12-18 bulbs. Mandibles with 2 teeth each, strongly alternating. Above the mandibles a transverse row of fine hairs (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Puparium: Yellowish-brown (Spencer, 1976: 202). Puparium yellow- to blackish brown (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Comments: Festuca gigantea is treated as Schedonorus gigantea (Giant Fescue) and Festuca pratensis is treated as Schedonorus pratensis (Meadow Fescue) by Stace (2010).

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

Time of year - mines: June-July, sometimes May (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: May-July. There is only a single generation per year.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain including London (Hampstead), Gloucester. (Coombe Dingle), Cambridge (Chippenham Fen), Lincoln (Surfleet), Suffolk (Orford, Woodditton), Dunbarton (Bonhill, Cardross), Inverness (Nethy Bridge), Sunderland (Tongue) (Spencer, 1972: 102), Warwickshire (Coventry area) (Robbins, 1991: 136); Cambridgeshire, Glamorgan and Stafford (NBN Gateway - N.B. includes Watsonian Vice Counties having publicly available records that fall within or overlap the vice county border at 10km resolution or better i.e. a record for a vice county may relate to an adjacent vice county - for included datasets see NBN Grid map below).

NBN Grid map: Note that not all datasets on the NBN Gateway may be available on the map below. If you are an NBN Gateway registered user you can request access for missing datasets via the link 'Open interactive map in new window' below.

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Denmark, Sweden, Finland (Spencer, 1976: 203), The Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa), Belgium (Scheirs, de Bruyn and von Tschirnhaus, 1995), Germany (Spencer, 1976: 554; Dempewolf, 2001: 119), Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Yugoslavia (Martinez in Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in eastern Canada (Spencer, 1990).

NBN interactive distribution map(s) of known host species in Great Britain and Ireland and elsewhere:

Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Unknown.