Glyphipterigidae

19.011 Leek Moth Acrolepiopsis assectella (Zeller, 1839)

Local

Similar species:

Forewing: 5.5 to 7mm

Habitats: Arable fields, gardens and allotments.

Habits: The moth comes to light. It is a potential pest, as it already is in parts of Europe and elsewhere.

Foodplant: The larva at first mines a leaf or a shoot of leek or onion. When feeding on leek it then bores through to the middle to feed on the inner leaves while producing much frass. When feeding on onion it feeds within the leaves and may bore down into the bulb. It pupates in an open netted cocoon attached to the plant or in the plant debris.