Leaf-mine: Full-depth corridor or blotch, often positioned along the leaf margin. In the first part much, brown-black, fine-grained frass, later parts of the mine almost free from frass. After hibernation the larva lives free in an untidy case of silk, covered with remants of sori (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Mines the frond at first, then feeding in sporangia in the spring (as shown). Later spins a case from empty sporangia (British leafminers).

The mine is also illustrated in UKMoths.

Larva: Larva (early and late instars) has black head, prothoracic plate and anal plate, which distinguish it from the other fern frond species P. filicivora (UKMoths). The larva is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Pupa: Pupal case has sharp crest when unworn (UKMoths). In the larval case, often on the hostplant (Pelham-Clinton, 1985a).

Head and prothoracic plate black, body yellowish (Pelham-Clinton, 1985a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths. The male and female genitalia are illustrated by the Lepidoptera Dissection Group.

Comments: Ceterach officinarum is treated as Asplenium ceterach (Rustyback) and Phyllitis scolopendrium is treated as Asplenium scolopendrium (Hart's-tongue) by Stace (2010).

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

Time of year - larvae: August-June, most prominent April-May (UKMoths).

Time of year - adults: June-July (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Most frequent in Wales and W. England, including Shropshire, Flint, Denbighshire, Caernarvon (UKMoths), Bedfordshire, Denbighshire, East Suffolk, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Monmouthshire, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, South Wiltshire, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk 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).

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, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia (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.