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Gorse Case-bearer - Coleophora albicosta

Phylum: Arthropoda - Class: Insecta - Order: Lepidoptera - Family: Coleophoridae

Gorse-case-bearer

This common moth derives its Latin name from the white streak along its forewing.

Although predominantly a day-flying moth the Gorse Case-bearer can be attracted by light during darkness. It is on the wing during June and July.

The wingspan of the Gorse Case-bearer ranges between 14 and 16mm.

Distribution

Coleophora albicosta is common and widespread throughout the UK and Ireland.

Lifecycle

The Gorse Case-bearer over-winters in a silk cocoon contained within a dead gorse flower and then pupates from the case in early April. The larvae of the moth feed on Gorse seeds inside the seed pod, and then live in a case fashioned from a flower sepal which it attacheds to the side of a seed pod.

The larval foodplant of this moth is Gorse (Ulex europaeus)

Picture: Rob Petley-Jones

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