Leaf-miner and case-bearer: Larva in a slender, brownish black, bivalved sheath case of 7-8 mm. The oral half is tubular, the rear part strongly laterally compressed. Mouth angle 30°.

Actually the case only looks like a sheath case. The larva cuts off mined leaves, after having removed the complete leaf margin: what is left is an upper and a lower epidermis, connected by the stub of the petiole. Leaves treated in this way are placed in front of the old case, the stub dorsally, and pointing forwards. The stubs together form a low dorsal keel. The case in fact is a composite leaf case. However, the larva adds so much silk (also because the leaves are too small to form a complete tube) the the leaf fragments are obliterated (Emmet et al., 1996a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: A differential character is that the larva of niveicostella has the metanotum unicolorous with remainder of the pale greenish body, while in albitarsella the metanotum bears two oval black sclerites. See Suire (1961a) and Emmet at al. (1996a) for descriptions of the larva (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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: Mid June (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Bedfordshire, East Kent, Hertfordshire, North Hampshire, South Wiltshire and Surrey (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 Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands. Also recorded in Near East and North Africa (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.