Scythropia crataegella (Linnaeus, 1767)
hawthorn moth
Crataegus monogyna, Nieuwendam
another leaf (together with Rhamphus oxyacanthae).
one more
primary mine; at right, partly on top of the midrib, the egg
secondary mines
secondary mines, underside; frass grains are stuck in an invisible, thin, spinning
Prunus spinosa, Veenendaal © Ben van As; secondary mines
lighted from behind
mine
The young larvae make very small (≤ 3 mm) corridor or blotch mines, usually several in a leaf. The primary mine generally lies adjacent to the midrib; as fas as I have seen the egg always is upper-surface. The secondary mines often are found in leaves without primary mine: obviously the larvae easily move to another leaf. The secondary mines are made from the underside of the leaf; while moving around silk is deposited under the leaf. Most frass is ejected from the mines, and part of the frass grains remain stuck in the spinning. Rather soon the larvae start living completely free in a common spinning under a leaf. The hibernate in a hibernaclum and continue living free in the spring.
host plants
Rosaceae, oligophagous
Cotoneaster integerrimus; Crataegus monogyna; Malus domestica; Prunus domestica, spinosa; Pyrus communis.
Wörz (1957a) adds Euonymus and Quercus; this needs confirmation.
phenology
Larvae from autumn till in June.
BENELUX
BE recorded (Phegea, 2010).
NE recorded (Kuchlein & de Vos, 1999a; Microlepidoptera.nl, 2010).
LUX recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2010).
distribution within Europe
From Fennoscandia to the Mediterranean, and from Britain to Romania (Fauna Europaea, 2010).
larva
social; head black, with brown and white lines; mottles reddish brown to fuscus grey (Agassiz, 1996a).
pupa
Illustrated by Patočka (1997a).
references
Agassiz (1996a), Baldizzone (2004a), Bengtsson & Johansson (2011a), Buhr (1936a), Burmann (1951a), Emmet (1976a), Heckford (1986a), Hering (1957a), Kasy (1987a), Kuchlein & Donner (1993a), Kuchlein & de Vos (1999a), Patočka (1997a), Patočka & Turčáni (2005a), Robbins (1991a), Schütze (1931a), Skala (1951b), Szőcs (1977a), Wegner (2010a), Wörz (1957a).