Leaf-mine: The larvae feed at first in a mine, and later in a folded or rolled leaf (UKMoths).

The mine begins with a usually rather short gallery, that opens into (and often is overrun by) a silvery epidermal upper-surface blotch with light brown frass. When the mine gets older it contracts and becomes an elongate blister or even a tube. Soon the larva leaves the mine and continues feeding within a downwards rolled leaf margin, that is fastened with silk (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The rolled leaf is also illustrated in British leafminers.

Larva: The larva is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Pupa: Under a silk membrane on underside of leaf (UKMoths). Pupation in a transparent, yellow-shining cocoon at the leaf margin (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths and the Encyclopedia of Life. The male and female genitalia are illustrated by the Lepidoptera Dissection Group.

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

Time of year - larvae: May, July (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Two generations, June and again during September, after which they hibernate and reappear in spring (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: A relatively common species throughout much of Britain including Lancaster (Littleborough) (UKMoths); Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Brecon, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sutherland, Easterness, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle Of Wight, Kincardine, Merionethshire, Middlesex, Monmouthshire, North Aberdeen, North Ebudes, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeen. South Devon, South Lancaster, South Wiltshire, Stafford, Stirling, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, West Sutherland, Westmorland and Worcestershire (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). See also British leafminers distribution map.

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Karsholt and van Nieukerken in Fauna Europaea).

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 Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central, North and Northwest, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine (Karsholt and van Nieukerken in Fauna Europaea).

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

Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Unknown.