Coleophoridae

37.054 Wood Pistol Case-bearer Coleophora currucipennella Zeller, 1839

pRDB3

Similar species:

Forewing: 6 to 7mm

Habitats: Deciduous oak and Hornbeam woodland.

Habits: The moth comes to light.

Foodplant: The larva feeds on Hornbeam, oaks, willows and Hazel. The larva mines the leaves before overwintering. In the spring it eats out windows and skeletonises oak leaves, or makes large holes on the leaves of other trees. The final dull black pistol case with dorso-lateral flaps is 9mm long, m.o. at a 80 to 90° angle. In early June it pupates attached to the upperside of a leaf or a twig.

On the European mainland it has also been recorded feeding on both Sessile Oak and Pedunculate Oak, Beech, Pear, Rowan, Blackthorn and Sour Cherry.