Leaf-mine: The leaf surface is often contorted. Can be confused with P. dubitella (British leafminers).

Rather large, lower-surface tentiform mine, mostly between two side veins. The upperside is fairly strongly inflated. The underside has many narrow folds, not easily seen because of the indumentum at the underside of the leaf. Frass pakced in a corner of the mine. Neither mine, cocoon nor pupa can be distinguished from those of Ph. dubitella (Gregor and Patocka, 2001a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: Details unknown.

Pupa: Pupa light brown in a tough, golden cocoon (Bladmineerders van Europa). The cremaster is illustrated in British leafminers.

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

Comments: Primarily on Salix caprea. Hartig (1939a) adds Salix appendiculata (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

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

Time of year - adults: The species is bivoltine, with a flight period in late May and June and again in August (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: A common moth, found widespread throughout Britain (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Ayrshire, Banff, Bedfordshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, East Kent, East Ross, East Suffolk, Easterness, Elgin, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Huntingdonshire, Kincardine, Merionethshire, Middlesex, North Aberdeen, North Devon, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, Northamptonshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeen, South Hampshire, South Lancaster, South Wiltshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Lancaster, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Westmorland 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, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Russia - Central, East, North and Northwest, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine. Also recorded in the East Palaearctic (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: