Last modified: March 20, 2024, 6:20 p.m.
A very rare species in Belgium, but as with many others probably overlooked. The search for the cases after 2004 gives us a better look at the distribution of this species.
Native
This species is light brown with pale length lines.
The antennae are alternately ringed brown and white nearly till the tip.
The wingspan is 10–17 mm.
A straw-coloured, slender, three-valved case of the type “tubular silken case”; length about 10 mm, mouth angle 45°–60°.
See also bladmineerders.be.
The mines are very clear white to see, because the caterpillar makes a lot of silk around the feeding holes.
The eggs are deposited at the underside of a leaf with cases found most of the time here. Cases can be found from August till June of the following year with larvae fully fed in June.
This species prefers mostly sandy soil.
The adults come to light.
The adults fly in one generation a year from late June till mid-August.
The larva feeds mainly on Achillea millefolium and Artemisia vulgaris but is also reported on Carduus, Inula and Leucanthemum.
