Hantsmoths

Common in woodland throughout much of the British Isles, except for the extreme north of Scotland, the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland (MBGBI Vol 3). In Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight recorded widely, but thinly, with the usual cluster of records in the south-east of the county, and probably under-recorded elsewhere. Wingspan 8-11 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 European Larch, living within a movable case, causing sufficient damage to be a serious pest in some areas.