Cosmopterigidae

34.009 Pellitory Beauty Cosmopterix pulchrimella Chambers, 1875

Notable A

Similar species:

Forewing: 3.5 to 4mm

Habitats: Old walls and cliffs.

Habits: The moth flies around the foodplant during the day and later comes to light.

Foodplant: The larvae mine the leaves of Pellitory-of-the-wall. They may initially inhabit an axil bud, then mine a short irregular gallery in a leaf, usually following a rib. This is widened into a large irregular blotch. The frass that is not ejected often becomes trapped in the spinning under the leaf. A larva may make a secondary mine if the original leaf is too small to support it. It prefers plants in the shade. It pupates under a folded leaf margin.