Leaf-mine: Difficult to distinguish between P. cydoniella and P. blancardella on the basis of mine characteristics - both form arched tubes on the leaf of M. sylvestris. P. cydoniella tends to make the larger mine on M. sylvestris and the pupa is in a cocoon, with frass to one side (British leafminers).

Elongated, lower surface, tentiform mine with one strong fold in the lower epidermis. Pupa in a white cocoon, in which no frass in incorporated; all frass in a clump in the mine. Before ecdysis the pupa works itself out of the mine through the floor in the mine (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: Details unknown.

Pupa: The pupa is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa as cf. cydoniella.

Adult: Not illustrated in UKMoths (check for update). The genitalia are not illustrated by the Lepidoptera Dissection Group (check for update).

Comments: Reports from other hostplants (Amelanchier ovalis, Amelanchier spicata, Cydonia oblonga, Malus pumila (as domestica), Malus sylvestris, Prunus, Pyrus communis) may possibly be the result of confusion with other species ( Phyllonorycter anceps, Phyllonorycter hostis, Phyllonorycter mespilella, Phyllonorycter sorbi ) (Triberti, 2007a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

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

Time of year - adults: Unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: A local species, distributed mainly in the southern and south-eastern area of England including Bedfordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, East Sussex, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Middlesex, North Hampshire, Shropshire, Stafford 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) and Northern Ireland (Karsholt and van Nieukerken in Fauna Europaea). See also British leafminers distribution map).

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

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 Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corsica, Czech Republic, Estonia, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Republic of Moldova, Norwegian mainland, Portuguese mainland, Russia - Central and South, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine. 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: