Status
Morley’s Final Catalogue: Not listed.
Recent Status: Few Suffolk records but becoming commoner in the late 2010s.
Life Style: A double brooded species that hibernates. It may also arrive in Suffolk as an immigrant. It can be found throughout the year. The larvae feed on Alnus species. They pupate in the larval habitation.
Identification: Caloptilia species stand erect on their front legs at rest. C. falconipennella is seasonally dimorphic. They are a light creamy brown with darker speckling, spots and mottling. The overall colour can also be red, orange, purple or maroon brown. The summer form has a sharply defined yellow costal blotch. This is faint or absent at other times except for the oblique front edge that defines a darker basal area. The species commonly shows dark and pale spots alternately along the dorsum and sometimes the costa. The femur and tibia of the front legs are the same colour as the wings.
The larvae initially mine a blotch on the underside of a leaf where the ovum was laid before folding a leaf edge. They will move two or three times and pupate in the last larval habitation. https://mothdissection.co.uk/species.php?Tx=Caloptilia_falconipennella  | Retained Specimen / Photograph will be Required. | |
| Mine: Either the leaf or a good photograph required | |
Recorded in 25 (43%) of 58 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 2005.
Last Recorded in 2024.
Additional Stats |