Currant Shoot Borer Lampronia capitella
Currant Shoot Borer Lampronia capitella
Larva • Wyre Forest, Worcs. • © Oliver Wadsworth

9.001 BF133

Currant Shoot Borer Lampronia capitella

(Clerck, 1759)


Wingspan 14-17 mm.

A distinctive moth with creamy markings on chocolate-brown wings and a yellowish-orange head tuft, it can be found on the wing in May and June.

The species occurs fairly locally over much of England and Wales, except in the north, but has been recorded in Scotland.

The larva feeds when young in the fruit of currant or gooseberry (Ribes spp.). It then overwinters, and in spring burrows into a new bud, a behaviour which gives rise to its English name.
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