Incurvariidae

08.006 Chilean Myrtle Moth Simacauda dicommatias (Meyrick, 1931)

Naturalised adventive (from imported plants)

Similar species: Psychoides filicivora

Forewing: 3 to 4mm

Habitats: Native to Chile and Argentina in Andean temperate rainforest.

Habits: The first records of larvae were from Tregwainton Garden, Penzance 22nd September 2020. It has since been recorded in the Lost Gardens of Heligan near Mevagissy and about two dozen other sites in Cornwall.

Foodplant: The larva forms a long twisting mine that ends in a small blotch often near the leaf tip or near the edge of a leaf of Chilean Myrtle Luma apiculata (a South American species invasive in Britain). It is occasionally found on White Chilean Myrtle Luma chequen and possibly other Myrtaceae. The larva uses the oval section of leaf from the leaf blotch to form a case from where it feeds on the underside of the leaf. Three of these cases are formed. The last case is attached to the underside of a leaf and used for pupation.