Gracillariidae

15.0115 Hop Stilt Caloptilia fidella (Reutti, 1853)

Recently naturalised

Similar species: This moth is usually rufous to chocolate brown with a yellow or sometimes white triangle on the leading edge of the wing which is similar in shape to that of Caloptilia azaleella.

Forewing: 5.5 to 7mm

Habitats: Hedgerows, Hop fields and gardens.

Habits: It was first recorded in July 2020 in Suffolk where it has since naturalised. On mainland Europe it is double brooded and the imago has been recorded in every month except July.

Foodplant: At first the larva mines a blotch in the axil between two veins of a Hop leaf. It later lives in a fold on the leaf margin at the tip of a leaf lobe. It pupates under a silk web in the axil of two leaf veins on the underside of the leaf.