Last modified: Feb. 24, 2024, 8:04 p.m.
A very rare and local species with a scattered distribution in Belgium.
Nowadays, it is considered a very rare species in Europe with few, if any, confirmed recent records.
Native
Wingspan 10–11 mm.
Head pale yellowish brown, prothoracic plate coloured as head with black pattern, thoracic segments 2 and 3 and abdominal segments 1 and 3 pale ochreceous yellow, rest of abdomen dull reddish to crimson, anal plate black, pinacula minute and black (Gregersen & Karsholt 2022).
The larva lives among spun leaves on the host plant, mining them from this position by gnawing irregular, more or less oval holes in the epidermis and eating from there the leaf tissue, the mines contain little or no frass. The attacked leaves turn yellowish which is very distinctive. The larva draws several leaves together round the stem and forms a sort of tubular habitation.
The adults are on the wing in July till early August.
The larva feeds on Genista anglica and Genista tinctoria.
It occurs in damp heathland with the host plant.
