Coleophoridae

37.076 Large Rush Case-bearer Coleophora sylvaticella Wood, 1892

Notable B

Similar species:

Forewing: 4.5 to 6.5mm

Habitats: Sheltered woodland rides.

Habits: The moth flies in the early morning, in afternoon sunshine and late in the evening.

Foodplant: The young larva feeds internally on developing seeds within the seed-capsules of Great Wood-rush. A case is formed in a late instar, it consists of buff-coloured silk, girdled in the middle by dark-brown flower bracts cut from the foodplant. The finished case is 5 to 7mm long, m.o. at a 20° to 25° angle. The larva overwinters in the leaf litter, then at the time of pupation the larva spin themselves to a fallen leaf or crawl to a stem where they attach themselves or attach themselves to a tree trunk, up to a height of 1.25m. The species is mainly biennial; full-fed in the first year and overwintering twice before pupating in April of the following year, but it sometimes feeds again in the spring of the second year before overwintering at the end of the year.