Food Plant: Bellis perennis ( Daisy), Crepis biennis ( Rough Hawks-beard), Helminthotheca echioides ( Bristly Oxtongue), Lapsana sp., L.communis ( Nipplewort), Mycelis sp., Picris sp., Sonchus arvensis ( Perennial Sow-thistle), S.asper ( Prickly Sow-thistle), S. oleraceus(Smooth Sow-thistle), Taraxacum sp., Taraxacum officinale ( Dandelion)

Mine: Spring and summer

Notes: Found most commonly on Taraxacum officinale . The mine illustrated is from Sonchus. Forms a white mine along the midrib, wth side branches into the leaf blade. Pupation occurs at the base of the midrib. The puparium is shown in dorsal (top) and ventral view (bottom). Adult emerged 15.vii.2021.. The mines of O.beckeri and O pulicaria are similar and so the adults must be bred to identify the leaf miner.

Data: 09.vii.2021, Downham Market, Norfolk, VC28

Image:© Rob Edmunds