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Leaf-miner: Egg at the upperside of the leaf. The mine is an extremely long corridor, often following the midrib or the leaf margin, with frass in a narrow central line, widening in te end into an irregular elongate blotch. Corridor sides somehwat irregularly scalloped out, especially towards the end. The larva may move, all the while mining, to another, even a third, leaf by way of the petioles and stem. Therefore one leaf may have only a narrow corridor, another a blotch. Pupation external. Mines mainly in the lowest leaves, difficult to find (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The leaves are stained purple as the larva mines. It usually mines two or three leaves, via the petiole and stem. The mines are long, with linear frass and irregular margins (British leafminers).

Mine of Trifurcula headleyella on Prunella vulgaris Image: © Willem Ellis (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).

Bright yellow, head light brown (Emmet, 1983a; Klimesch, 1948a); see Gustafsson and van Nieukerken (1990a) for a description (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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

Adult: The adult is not illustrated in UKMoths (check for update). The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Lamiaceae
Prunella	vulgaris	Selfheal		Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Lamiaceae
Prunella	grandiflora	Large-flowered Selfheal		Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunella	laciniata	Cut-leaved Selfheal		Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunella	vulgaris	Selfheal		Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: July to October (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Dorset, Isle of Wight, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, Surrey and Warwickshire (NBN Atlas). See also British leafminers distribution map.

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia - North, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: