Status Morley’s Final Catalogue: Not listed.
Recent Status: First recorded as a British species in 2014. The first Suffolk record, in VC25, recorded as a larval mine on 31st October 2019. First noted in VC26 in 2022 at Lackford. Increasing so more County records are expected.
Life Style: A double brooded species hibernating as adult. The larvae mine leaves of Salix babylonica, S. fragilis, S. alba and S. pentandra. They pupate in the mine.
Identification: The adult moth is similar to P. comparella. They are white or light ochre peppered with brown scales coalescing into marks along the costa and dorsum that are dark followed by a white dark peppered patch. There is a dark terminal spot or streak and a dark line in the cilia. https://projects.biodiversity.be/lepidoptera/species/4527/ Records of the adult moth should be supported by genitalia dissection. The larvae create a blister blotch on the underside of a leaf that reaches from the leaf edge to the mid-vein at maturity and has a prominent central longitudinal crease. Distortion is caused by the edge of the leaf being drawn in. https://mothdissection.co.uk/species.php?Tx=Phyllonorycter_pastorella | Retained Specimen / Photograph will be Required. | |
| Mine: Either the leaf or a good photograph required | |
Recorded in 9 (16%) of 58 10k Squares. First Recorded in 2019. Last Recorded in 2024. Additional Stats |