Coleophoridae

37.024 Cowberry Case-bearer Coleophora vitisella Gregson, 1856

Notable A

Similar species:

Forewing: 5 to 6mm

Habitats: Open woodland, the lower slopes of mountain moorland and in glens.

Habits: The moth flies in the evening.

Foodplant: The larva feeds on the mature leaves of Cowberry. It overwinters and then re-appears in mid-April. The larva makes a large number of full depth mines, with oval holes where a disc of leaf has been cut and added to the case. In the second spring, the final dark brown case has up to forty discs and is shaped like a fat walking stick. It is 5 to 6mm long, m.o. at a 45° angle. It pupates on the upper surface of a leaf. On the European mainland it has also been recorded feeding on wintergreen.