Leaf-miner and case-bearer: The larva creates a succession of cases, in this instance fashioned from parts of a leaf. The final case is 11-13 mm long, slender, and fixed at 45° to the leaf surface, with anal end laterally compressed and bivalved (British leafminers).

A slender, brown, spathulate leaf case, in the end about 13 mm long; mouth angle about 15°. Young case slender, not hooked (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: The larva is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

The case is illustrated in UKMoths, British leafminers and Bladmineerders van Europa.

Pupa: Details unknown.

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths by Rob Edmunds. The male genitalia, but not the femaile genitalia (check for update), are illustrated by the Lepidoptera Dissection Group.

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

Time of year - larvae: Probably from September (early feeding not recorded) to November, feeding again from late May to June or July. There is also a biennial population, which aestivates and completes feeding in June or July of the second year (British leafminers). The species overwinters in a cases, in some populations twice before emerging as an adult (UKMoths).

Time of year - adults: Mainly in July and August. Some populations only produce adults every two years (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: A rather local species which is slowly increasing its range. It occurs in scattered colonies in central and southern England, but also occasionally elsewhere (UKMoths); including East Kent, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, West Gloucestershire 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).

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 Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Sardinia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Swede, Switzerland and The Netherlands (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.