21.004 BF254

Laburnum Leaf Miner Leucoptera laburnella

(Stainton, 1851)

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Wingspan 7-9 mm.

A small but very attractive moth, distributed widely and fairly commonly throughout much of the British Isles. It tends to inhabit suburban areas where laburnum is grown in gardens, and in conjunction with a couple of dipterous species, can discolour the leaves with its mines.

The larva mines the leaves of laburnum, including hybrids, and occasionally dyer's greenweed (Genista tinctoria). The mine is initially a brown spot, turning via a green frass-filled gallery into a pale blotch with a spiral of black frass.

See also:
Leafmine (British Leaf Mining Fauna)
Leafmine (De bladmineerders van Nederland)