Gelechiidae

35.036 Orange-spotted Miner Chrysoesthia sexguttella (Thunberg, 1794)

Local

Similar species:

Forewing: 4 to 5mm

Habitats: Sheltered wasteground and the inner edge of salt-marshes.

Habits: The moth flies when it is humid, in sun or under cloud. It occasionally comes to light.

Foodplant: The larval feeds on Common Orache, Babington's Orache, Grass-leaved Orache, Sea Orache, Spear-leaved Orache, Sea Purslane, Fat-hen, Nettle-leaved Goosefoot, Many-seeded Goosefoot or Red Goosefoot. On the European mainland it has also been recorded from Purple Orache, Spinach, an Amaranthus sp. and Summer-cypress. The mine begins as a short gallery on a leaf, but quickly becomes a large, transparent blotch. Any of the dark frass that is not ejected is stacked to one side. The larva appears to prefer shaded plants and may move to a second leaf if the first is small. It pupates in the leaf litter.