Leaf-miner and case-bearer: The larva constructs a distinctive dark brown case from fragments of leaf (UKMoths). The case is illustrated in British leafminers.

Dark brown, bivalved, composite leaf case, about 10 mm long, and composed of 6-8 ringlets (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: Described by Suire (1961a) (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).

Comments: Stachys officinalis is treated as Betonica officinalis (Betony) by Stace (2010).

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

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

Time of year - adults: The adults fly in June and July, but are not often seen (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Now a very local species in Britain, it was formerly more widespread but generally is restricted to a few localities in southern England (UKMoths) including North Essex, Surrey and West Sussex (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, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia - South, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland and Switzerland, 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.