7.007 BF149

Adela cuprella
Early Long-horn

([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)

Wingspan c. 15mm.

This species has a wide distribution across much of mainland Britain, but is rather local and not easy to locate, as the adults tend to spend a lot of their time around the tops of sallow trees.

The males have very long whitish antennae and hairy black head; the females have much shorter, black antennae and are orange or yellowish on the head. Both sexes have metallic bronzy forewings with a slight purplish sheen

The eggs are laid in the catkins of sallow (Salix), but on hatching the larvae drop to the ground and feed amongst the leaf litter in a portable case constructed from fragments of vegetation.