Elachistidae

38.003 Basil Blotch-miner Stephensia brunnichella (Linnaeus, 1767)

Notable B

Similar species:

Forewing: 4 to 4.5mm

Habitats: Woodland margins on chalk and limestone areas.

Habits:

Foodplant: The larva mines the leaves of Wild Basil. It mines a gallery with a central line of frass leading to a dark-brown blotch with scattered frass. The blotch is usually situated near the margin at the far end of the leaf. It may be expanded to take up the whole leaf. The larva sometimes changes leaves at this stage. The greenish-white larva has a dark green dorsal line, a black head and finely divided prothoracic plate. It pupates in a white cocoon under a leaf adjacent to where it fed or in the leaf litter.

On the European mainland it has also been recorded feeding on Common Calamint and Lesser Calamint.