Hantsmoths

Local in scrubland, hedgerows, parks and gardens in southern England and Wales; rare elsewhere. In Hampshire virtually restricted to the south coast in the east of the county, very rare inland or in the west; on the Isle of Wight, the few records have all been on the north coast. Wingspan 12.5-17 mm. Like many of the Coleophora, imagines are virtually impossible to identify without recourse to dissection, and the larvae, which live in cases of characteristic form and which can sometimes be found on the foodplant, may be easier to identify by comparison against a reference collection. Larva mines leaves of Blackthorn, and also Wild Cherry, Hawthorn, Apple, Pear and Rowan, living within a movable pistol-case.