Food Plant: Carex spp., such as C.flacca (Blue Sedge), C.arenaria (Sand Sedge)

Egg: laid on the leaf

Mine: September-May; June-July

Notes: Initially a thin gallery is formed towards the leaf tip. After 2-3cms the mine turns downwards and broadens. It then becomes whitish and inflated. Found in heaths and grasslands throughout England and Wales. A mine in the field on Carex flacca in autumn, the ovum at the start is clearly visible. A larva entering a leaf of Carex flacca to begin a new mine in spring.

Data: ex mine 03.x.2023, Aston Rowant NNR, Oxfordshire, VC23

Image:© Will Langdon