15.073 BF351

Phyllonorycter lautella

(Zeller, 1846)

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Wingspan 6-7 mm.

A small, but quite distinctive Phyllonorycter, this species has a black head tuft, metallic lead-grey thorax and silvery-white markings strongly edged with black.

The foodplant is oak (Quercus), but the larval mine is also quite distinctive, being rather long and narrow, often with several to one leaf. The species also shows a preference for young trees or saplings. The mine is on the underside.

It is locally common throughout Britain and Ireland, but more so in the south. May and August are the flight periods for the two generations.