Leaf-miner and case-bearer: As with other Coleophorids, the larva forms a case from the leaf, in which it overwinters. The case formed by this species is long, slender and frequently woolly in appearance (UKMoths).

Bivalved composite leaf case of 8-10 mm, rather strongly compressed and keeled, with a mouth angle of 30-45° (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: The larva is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Pupa: Details unknown.

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

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

Time of year - larvae: September to October, feeding again from April to May (British leafminers).<

Time of year - adults: The adult moths flies in a single generation emerging in June and July (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: The moth is common in areas where its hostplant grows, throughout the whole of Britain, except the far north of Scotland (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Banff, Bedfordshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, East Sutherland, Elgin, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Hertfordshire, Kincardine, Middlesex, North Aberdeen, North Ebudes, North Lincolnshire, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, Northamptonshire, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeen, South Wiltshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Westerness, 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).

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

NBN Grid map:

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia North, Russia - South, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands. 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.