19.014 BF476

Acrolepia autumnitella

Curtis, 1838

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Wingspan 11-13 mm.

A small inconspicuous species, distributed mainly in the southern half of England, with a few scattered records further north, although it is probably overlooked.

The larvae mine the leaves of bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara) or occasionally deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), forming large whitish or translucent blotches.

The pupa is formed in a cocoon fashioned from a network of silk.

The adults generally emerge in two generations, firstly in July and then in October, the second brood overwintering in this stage.