Gelechiidae

35.121 Arrowgrass Miner Scrobipalpa stangei (Hering, 1889)

Extinct

Similar species:

Forewing: 6.5 to 7.5mm

Habitats: Coastal and inland saline sites. Once recorded along a dry path crossing a boggy meadow.

Habits: The moth flies at dusk and comes to light. The last record was at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight in July 1882.

Foodplant: The early stages have not been recorded in Britain. On the European mainland it is recorded as feeding on Sea Arrowgrass and Marsh Arrowgrass. The larva mines a broad, transparent, full depth gallery on a leaf, but later feeds in the shoots, mining flower stalks and leaves, causing a parts of the leaves to droop and form an acute angle with the rest of the leaf. Frass is deposited inside this angle in the leaf. The larva finally descends into the rootstock. It pupates in the feeding place.