Food Plant: Carex acutiformis (Lesser Pond Sedge), C.bigelowii (Bigelow's Sedge), C.riparia (Great Pond Sedge) C.acuta (Tufted Sedge), C.paniculata (Great Tussock Sedge)

Egg: laid near to leaf tip

Mine: September-July

Notes: Forms a long gallery down the leaf, usually over the midrib or close to it, and finally feeds amongst the leaves at the base of the plant. Similar mines examined by Guy in 2014 were 68 and 71 cms long. The larva is yellowish with a dark head and becomes a red-brown colouration when preparing to pupate. Found in marshes and wet meadows. A mine in the field on Carex acutiformis. On this host the area around the mine (which is a thin brownish gallery) becomes discoloured a pale yellow, as can be seen here. This makes mined leaves visible at some distance. Adults reared to confirm identification.

Data: 09.v.2023, Marston Meadows, Oxfordshire, VC23.

Image:© Will Langdon