Momphidae

40.004 White-headed Mompha Mompha propinquella (Stainton, 1851)

Local

Similar species: Mompha lacteella

Forewing: 5 to 6mm

Habitats: Open woodland, woodland clearings, wasteground and gardens.

Habits: The moth flies at dawn and dusk and comes to light.

Foodplant: The larva mines the lower leaves of Great Willowherb, Broadleaved Willowherb, Square-stalked Willowherb or Marsh Willowherb. While still small it overwinters. In the spring it forms a blotch mine on a lower leaf with frass heaped in the middle or dispersed throughout. The blotch may later occupy most of a leaf or the larva may mine the stem so that it can enter another leaf to form a new blotch. The larva is brown-red, but paler below and between the segments. The head is black, the two rectangular sclerites of the prothoracic plate and the thoracic legs are dark brown and the anal plate is pale brown. In May the larva pupates in a pale ochreous cocoon in the leaf litter or sometimes in the mine.