15.052 BF332

Phyllonorycter corylifoliella

(Hübner, 1796)

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Wingspan 8-9 mm.

Slightly unusually among Phyllonorycters, this species feeds on a fairly wide range of foodplants. Most other British species, apart from P. leucographella, are specific to one species (or at least genus) of foodplant.

The mine is also unusual, in that it is found on the upperside of the leaf, and has a ?double? mine within a mine, the outer mine being translucent and flecked with brown. Typical foodplants are hawthorn (Crataegus), apple (Malus) and various Sorbus species.

The mine can be found in July and September to October, and adults are at large in May and again in August.

The adult is weakly marked in comparison to some of its congeners, and the species is widely, but thinly scattered throughout the British Isles. In recent years it seems to have decreased in numbers, at least in the north.