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Leaf-miner: A long mine between veins, several creases in lower epidermis. It is strongly contracted, forming a tubular shape (British leafminers).

Oviposition at the underside of the leaf, always near a side vein. The mine begins as an elongate blotch of 5-7 mm alongside the vein. This develops into an elongate lower-surface tentiform mine between two side veins, sometimes from midrib to leaf margin. Contraction of the lower epidemis may give the mine a tubular aspect. The lower epidermis has a number of fine folds that are set so close together as to appear one single strong fold. Al frass is heaped in a corner of the mine. The pupa lies in a loose, white, membranaceous cocoon in the opposite corner (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The mine is also illustrated in UKMoths.

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).

The larva is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

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

The pupa is illustrated in British leafminers and Bladmineerders van Europa.

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Fagaceae
Fagus				British leafminers
Fagus	sylvatica	Beech		Pitkin & Plant
Fagus	sylvatica	Beech		UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Fagaceae
Fagus	crenata	Crenate Beech		Bladmineerders van Europa
Fagus	sylvatica	Beech		Belgian Lepidoptera
Fagus	sylvatica	Beech		Bladmineerders van Europa
Fagus	sylvatica subsp. orientalis			Bladmineerders van Europa

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

Time of year - adults: Two broods, flying in May and June, and again in August (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: It is common throughout Britain (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Caithness, Cambridgeshire, Cardinganshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sussex, Easterness, Edinburgh, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Hadddington, Herefordshire, Hertforshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Leicestershire, Linlithgow, Main Argyll, Mid-west Yorkshire, Merionethshire, Middlesex, Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Ebudes, North Hampshire, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, North-east Yorkshire, Pembrokeshire, Radnorshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Devon, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Northumberland, South Somerset, South Wiltshire, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Ross, West Suffolk, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas) and the Channel Is.

See also British leafminers distribution map.

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central and South, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands. Also recorded in the Near East (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: