Blastobasidae

41.002 Common Masoner Blastobasis adustella Walsingham, 1894

Common

Similar species:

Forewing: 6 to 9mm

Habitats: Woodland, hedgerows and gardens.

Habits: The moth comes to light.

Foodplant: The larva feeds on a variety of vegetable matter. It feeds within midge galls on sallow, spongy oak-galls, seeds in bird droppings, damp Teasel heads, the foliage of Yew, Juniper, Grand Fir and spruce spp., the spun fruits of Rosaceae spp. and in captivity on tied rolls of bramble and sallow leaves. The larva is purplish-brown and paler underneath, with a chestnut-brown head, a large dark brown, saddle-shaped, divided prothoracic plate, pale brown thoracic feet and dark brown anal plate. It pupates in a white silk cocoon covered in soil in the leaf litter and sometimes overwinters twice.