1a larva lives free, or in a silken tube or between spun leaves => 2

1b fleck mine (full depth, no frass, with a hole) => 5

1c corridor or blotch => 12

1d galls, etc => Tables for all parasites per species

2a larva lives free under the leaf, entering the mine with its head and thorax: Polyommatus escheri

2b larva mines from a spinning, or from a silken tube fixed to the plant => 3

3a larva with red length lines, living between spun leaves: Syncopacma cincticulella or ochrofasciella

3b no red length lines; a silken tube runs from the ground up => 4

4a on Astragalus gombo: Syncopacma thaumalea

4b lives on the related Astracantha echinus, possibly also on Astragalus: Aroga aristotelis

5a case helicoidal; hole in the mine not neatly circular: Apterona helicoidella

5b case more or less straight; hole exactly circular (Coleophora) => 6

6a larva in a sheath case: Coleophora polonicella

6b … simple leaf case: Coleophora hippodromica

6c … composite leaf case (occurrence on Astragalus doubtful): Coleophora discordella

6d … pistol case => 7

6e …. lobe case => 11

7a pallium not beyond half the length of the case => 8

7b pallium descending beyond half the length of the case => 9

8a case up to 16 mm, straw-coloured: Coleophora cartilaginella

8b case much smaller, light or dark brown: Coleophora astragalella

9a palllium with lateral winglike extensions: Coleophora vicinella

9b pallium unwinged => 10

10a pallium extending to the mouth opening: Coleophora valesianella

10b pallium leaves the lowest part of the case uncovered: Coleophora spumosella

11a mouth opening normal: Coleophora colutella

11b mouth opening shifted to the side, causing the case to lie sidewards on the leaf: Coleophora onobrychiella

12a larva with chitinised head; mine small, irregular in shape; older larvae live free among spun leaves => 13

12b larva a maggot; mine not unusually small, a corridor, may be followed by a blotch; larvae mine all their life => 14

13a pinacula colourless (but the bases of the setae are black): Cnephasia incertana

13b pinacula black: Cnephasia stephensiana

14a narrow corridor, partly along the leaf marign, ending in a large, primary, blotch: Phytoliriomyza variegata

14b corridor from begin to end (sometimes forming a secondary blotch), not associated with the leaf margin: Liriomyza congesta