Coleophoridae

37.066 Larch Case-bearer Larch Case-bearer Coleophora laricella (Hübner, [1817])

Common

Similar species:

Forewing: 4 to 5mm

Habitats: Coniferous and mixed woodland, parkland, gardens and other sites where the foodplants are present.

Habits: The moth comes to light.

Foodplant: The larva feeds on European Larch. It makes a slender gallery mine filled with frass and does this for the first two instars. In September it cuts off a mined needle and uses it for a case. It then makes a succession of large blotch mines. It will even leave its case to reach further inside the mine. In October it attaches itself to the base of a bud to overwinter. In the spring it continues feeding and enlarges its case by adding another needle below its case, splitting its case ventrally and the needle dorsally and then combining the two with silk. The final unvalved case is 5mm long, m.o. 60° angle. It is a serious pest in larch plantations as the lower branches are often bleached by the larval feeding. Large areas of the needles have gone brown by late May when it is full-fed. It pupates attached to a twig or in a rosette of needles.

On the European mainland it has also been recorded feeding on Japanese Larch, American Larch, Siberian Larch, Dahurian Larch, Western Larch and Douglas Fir.