Hantsmoths

Rare (proposed as a future Red Data Book species) in woodland in parts of southern England, declining, most recently recorded in Kent, Essex, Oxfordshire, Monmouthshire, Derbyshire and Cheshire (MBGBI Vol 3). In Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight there are two old records from the Island, but nothing has been heard of the species there since 1934. Wingspan 13-15 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 Hazel, Hornbeam and Oak, living within a movable pistol-case.

VC10 Isle of Wight