Food Plant: Juniperus communis (Juniper), Chamaecyparis spp (Cupressus), Thuja sp. (Cedar)

Egg: Usually close to a young shoot

Mine: June-March

Notes: The shoots turn a whiter colour as the larva mines them, but age to a brown colour. The larva makes a hole in the shoot and brown frass may accumuklate there. The larva can swap shoots. The mines of A.cupressella look very similar but the phenology is different as A.cupressella larvae feed in April to May whereas those of A.trifasciata feed November to March. The larva of A .trifasciata has a dark head whereas that of A.cupressella has a light brown head. The larva leaves the mine in February or March to pupate in a silken cocoon in a sheltered site.

Bradley No: 409a

Status: Local

Data:

Image:©

References:
Emmet AM (1996) The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland 3
Langmaid JR, Palmer SM & Young MR (2018), A Field Guide to the Smaller Moths of Great Britain and Ireland
Smart B (2017), Micro-moth Field Tips