Coleophoridae

37.031 Buckthorn Case-bearer Coleophora ahenella Heinemann, [1876]

Notable A

Similar species:

Forewing: 5 to 6mm

Habitats: Downland and damp acid scrub.

Habits: The moth is rarely recorded as an adult.

Foodplant: The larva feeds on Purging Buckthorn or Alder Buckthorn and also Wayfaring Tree, Dogwoods, Snowberry, Honeysuckle and Fly Honeysuckle. It mines the leaf until September, then overwinters. In the following May it starts starts feeding again and also cuts circles of the lower surface of the blotch mine and stacks them to make a small untidy case. Then from late June it aestivates until August, when it again feeds and adds to its case. The additions becoming larger as the larva grows (making the case look like a tiny brown christmas tree). From September it again overwinters until May of the following year when it pupates attached to a twig. The full sized bivalved case is about 5.5 to 7mm long, m.o. at a 0° angle.