Status Morley’s Final Catalogue: Very numerous on black-horehound plants at Hemley in May 1934 (Trans, ii, p. clxviii); all over the county at Bentley, Ipswich, &c. (Whit); occasionally at Monks Soham light.
Recent Status: A common species well recorded in Suffolk.
Life Style: A single brooded species flying from June till August. They come to light. The larvae mine leaves of Ballota nigra, Stachys sylvatica, S. lanata, S. officinalis, Marrubium vulgare and Lamium purpureum. They feed from the underside of a leaf and can be gregarious. They hibernate as a small larva and pupate in the final larval case attached to the stem of the foodplant.
Identification: The moth is white or pale cream with ochreous yellow stripes. There are similar less common species. They can be identified by genitalia dissection. The larvae initially mine a sinuous gallery and excise their first case from a blotch at its end. They enlarge the case by adding excised blotch mines. These result in a flattened straight case narrowing to the bivalved anal opening. https://mothdissection.co.uk/species.php?Tx=Coleophora_lineoleaVerification Grade Comment: Case: If on Lambs-ear (Stachys byzantina) = C1 | Case: A good quality photo or specimen of the case and plant/pabulum is required. | |
Recorded in 23 (40%) of 58 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1934. Last Recorded in 2023. |