Hantsmoths

Common and the most numerous of the three oak-mining Nepticulidae found in woodland, gardens and parkland throughout much of south-eastern England, north to Yorkshire. In Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight the mines often abundant on Pedunculate Oak, but has been confused in the past with E. albifasciella and E. heringi, and the true extent of its distribution may be much wider. Wingspan 4.8-6.1 mm. Imago distinguished from most other Ectoedemia species by the white basal spot on the forewing (MBGBI Vol 1). Adults difficult to distinguish from other Ectoedemia species, and more frequently recorded in the larval stage, when mines are relatively easy to find where they are present. Larva mines leaves of Sessile and Pedunculate Oak, often in fallen leaves, over-wintering as a pupa. The mines are described in the following link:
www.leafmines.co.uk
.