Gracillariidae

15.009 Shaded Oak Stilt Caloptilia robustella Jäckh, 1972

Common

Similar species: Caloptilia alchimiella has the yellow at the base of the wing fairly sharply (rather than gradually) shade into the brown. Also the yellow triangle on the leading edge of the forewing gradually tapers away towards the wing tip.

Forewing: 5 to 6mm

Habitats: Deciduous woodland.

Habits: The moth comes to light.

Foodplant: As with Caloptilia alchimiella the larva at first forms a narrow gallery mine which regularly overlaps itself on the underside of an oak leaf. This leads to a rectangular or triangular full depth blotch in a vein axil. It later lives in a succession of two or three rolled down leaf cones at the tip of a lobe while it feeds on the underside of the leaf. It pupates under a pale green membrane under a leaf.