Coleophoridae

37.098 Fleabane Case-bearer Coleophora inulae Wocke, [1877]

Notable A

Similar species:

Forewing: 6 to 7.5mm

Habitats: Damp woodland clearings and rides, marshes, fens and dry downland.

Habits: The moth comes to light.

Foodplant: The biennial larva blotch mines the leaves of Common Fleabane and Ploughman's-spikenard. The larva overwinters in a small case which was probably cut from its first blotch mine (but the very early stages are not recorded). The rest of the case is made of silk with frequent extensions at the rear and ventral lengthways slits cut and bridged with silk for expansion of the girth. The completed slender, cylindrical case is grey-ochreous and lighter to the rear, with a dark dorsal patch and a woolly edge to the necked mouth. It is trivalved and about 15mm long, m.o. at a 0° to 10° angle. Most of the larvae are full-fed by July when they aestivate before overwintering and pupate in the following May, but some feed briefly in the spring before their pupation, which takes place near the ground.