Gelechiidae

35.093 Gorse Streak Mirificarma mulinella (Zeller, 1839)

Common

Similar species:

Forewing: 5 to 7mm

Habitats: Heathland, calcareous heath, hedgerows, embankments, shingle and waste ground.

Habits: The moth can be disturbed from the foodplants and comes to light and sugar. It has been recorded nectaring on Common Ragwort.

Foodplant: The larva feeds within the flower buds of Common Gorse, Broom or occasionally on Tree Lupin or Dyer's Greenweed. It bores into a bud, eats the flower, then bores into an adjacent bud. When reared on Tree Lupin in captivity the larva spun a leaflet into a pod and fed on the leaf. It pupates in a flimsy cocoon in the leaf litter.