Morley’s Final Catalogue: Not listed

Recent Status: A scarce but widely distributed species in Britain. The first county record was at Rougham during 2022.

Life Style: The moth is thought to be double brooded flying in June/July and again from August and hibernating as an adult to appear in April/May. The ovum is laid on the underside of a leaf of Oak species or Sweet Chestnut. Following a small blotch mine the larva folds a leaf tip downwards and subsequently rolls a tip downwards to feed from. They pupate under a greenish silken membrane beneath a leaf.

Identification: This member of the Gracillariinae is readily separated from others in the subfamily by the prominent forward pointing tuft on the second segment of the palps. The colour varies from white through cream to ferruginous brown. The markings of varying intensity are darker and black scaled patches that in well marked specimens give a chequered appearance. The ferruginous form may appear similar to the smaller Caloptilia rufipennella and well marked specimens may resemble the larger C. populetorum or C. cuculipennella. The larvae can be confused with other oak feeding Gracillariids so that discovered larvae must be reared through to ensure correct identification.

	Mine: Moth needs to be reared and, in some cases, possibly dissected.

Recorded in 1 (2%) of 58 10k Squares. First Recorded in 2022. Last Recorded in 2022. Additional Stats

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