Leaf-miner and case-bearer: The larva builds a 'pistol case' (UKMoths).

The mature case is around 15mm long with a slightly swollen middle region, being palest at the anal end (British leafminers).

Larva in a slender tubular silken case. The case is about 15 mm long, yellow-grey, and trivalved. The mouth angle is about 0°-10°, causing the case to lie flat on the leaf (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: The larva lives two years (Emmet et al., 1996a).

Pupa: Details unknown.

Adult: Not illustrated in UKMoths (check for update). The genitalia are not illustrated by the Lepidoptera Dissection Group (check for update).

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

Time of year - larvae: June - July (May of the following year in some cases) (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: June and July, but the species has a two-year lifecycle, appearing every other year (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: A scarce and very local species which has a small number of tiny colonies in the south of England, principally in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (UKMoths);
Caernarvonshire and South Hampshire (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); and Portsmouth, Hants, VC11 ( British leafminers).

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, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia - South and Slovakia. Also recorded in Near East (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.