Last modified: Dec. 2, 2024, 7:29 p.m.
A not so common species in Belgium but found throughout the country after 2004.
Native
Wingspan 9–11 mm.
The forewings, head, and thorax are shiny greyish.
The antennae are ¾ dark and ¼ (at the tip) clearly white.
The brown case is lobe-shaped and is lying almost flat on its leaf, so the mouth angle is 0°. Ventrally, there is a distinct keel.
See also bladmineerders.be.
The fleck mines are rather large, round and brownish.
The eggs are deposited on the underside of a leaf of the food plant. The caterpillars feed on both sides of the leaves and are fully grown in October.
Cases are easily found in springtime on e.g. smooth Alnus stems.
The adults fly in early evening and later come to light.
The adults fly in one generation a year, from late May to early July.
This species is extremely polyphagous, over 30 species of food plants are known and the larva lives on Rosaceae and on woody plants including Alnus, Castanea, Potentilla, Rubus, Symphoricarpus, Tilia, Viburnum, etc...