Gracillariidae

15.0862 Royal Leaf-miner Phyllonorycter pastorella (Zeller, 1846)

Immigrant possible colonist

Similar species:

Forewing: 4 to 4.5mm

Habitats: Marshes and fens.

Habits: The first British record was at Buckingham Palace gardens in 2014. It has been recorded as larval mines in Norfolk in 2018, Suffolk in 2019 and Cambridgeshire in 2020.

Foodplant: The larva mines the underside of a leaf of Crack Willow, Weeping Willow, White Willow, Bay Willow or their hybrids. It forms a large, longitudinal, oval blotch reaching from one side of the midrib to the margin with a single strong crease on the underside. The mine is larger than any other mine on narrow leaved willows in Britain. Pupation takes place in the mine with the frass in one corner.