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Leaf-miner: The initial mine is a blotch type. It then leaves this and makes folds on the leaf edge. The mine looks similar to Parornix finitimella and the larvae should be examined for identification of the mine. D. torquilella has legs concolorous with the body, whereas P. finitimella has black ringed legs (British leafminers, as Deltaornix torquillella).

The mine begins as a lower-surface epidermal gallery that widens into a blotch. Finally it becomes a small, only weakly inflated tentiform mine, quadrangular of triangular when it lies in a vein axil. The lower epidermis is whitish, unfolded, and rather transparent. The leaf tissue is eaten up to the upper epidermis. Frass packed in a corner of the mine. The older larva leaves the mine, then lives free under a leaf tip or margin that has been folded downwards, or in a leaf that is rolled into a pod (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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).

Yellowish white/green; head light brown. Contrary to P. finitimella, living on the same hostplant, the rear margin of the head does not bear four patches, but two (sometimes indistinct), and the legs are not black, but yellowish green (Emmet, 1982a; Emmet, Watkinson and Wilson, 1985a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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

Pupation in a cocoon under the folded edge of leaf (British leafminers, as Deltaornix torquillella).

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths (as Deltaornix torquillella). The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Rosaceae
Prunus	domestica	Wild Plum		British leafminers, as Deltaornix torquillella
Prunus	domestica	Wild Plum		Pitkin & Plant, as Deltaornix torquillella
Prunus	spinosa	Blackthorn		British leafminers, as Deltaornix torquillella
Prunus	spinosa	Blackthorn		Pitkin & Plant, as Deltaornix torquillella
Prunus	spinosa	Blackthorn		UKMoths, as Deltaornix torquillella

Hosts elsewhere:

Rosaceae
Prunus	cerasus	Dwarf Cherry		Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus	domestica	Wild Plum		Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus	domestica subsp. insititia	Bullace		Bladmineerders van Europa, as Prunus institia
Prunus	maritima			Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus	spinosa	Blackthorn		Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: July to September (British leafminers, as Deltaornix torquillella).

Time of year - adults: The moths fly from May to July, and sometimes are attracted to light (UKMoths, as Deltaornix torquillella).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Carmarthenshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, Dumfireshire, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, East Sutherland, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, Middlesex, Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, Northamptonshire, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Lancashire, South Northumberland, South Wiltshire, Stafford, Stirlingshire, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, West Sussex, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

See also British leafminers distribution map (as Deltaornix torquillella).

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Corsica, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central and South, Sicily, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in the Near East (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: