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Leaf-miner: The larvae feed on a range of deciduous trees, windowing leaves in autumn and eating the buds, catkins, young shoots and then spun leaves in the spring (UKMoths). The mine is illustrated in British leafminers.

Larva: The larvae of moths have a head capsule and chewing mouthparts with opposable mandibles (see video of a gracillarid larva feeding), six thoracic legs and abdominal legs (see examples).

Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).

Cocoon formed in soil or where the larva fed British leafminers.

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths and the Encyclopedia of Life. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Hosts elsewhere:

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

Time of year - adults: The normal flight period is July and August, when the moths fly from dusk onwards (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: It is widely distributed over England, Wales and Ireland, though commoner in the south (UKMoths), including the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea); Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Carmarthenshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, East Sussex, Fife, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Merionethshire, Mid-west Yorkshire, Middlesex, North Devon, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Lincolnshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, Nottinghamshire, Pembrokeshire, Radnorshire, Shropshire, South Devon, South Essex, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Wiltshire, South Northumberland, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Kent, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, West Sussex, Westmorland and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Fauna Europaea and National Biodiversity Data Centre Map).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central, Sardinia, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands. Also recorded in East Palaearctic and Near East (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Belgian Lepidoptera
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers
Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea
NBN Atlas
NHM UK Checklist
UKMoths