Heliozela resplendella explained

Heliozela resplendella is a moth of the Heliozelidae family. It is found from Fennoscandia and northern Russia to the Pyrenees, Alps and Romania and from Ireland to the Baltic region.

The wingspan is 5–7 mm. The head is dark bronzy. The forewings are dark greyish-bronze with a white dorsal spot towards base, and another beyond middle. The hindwings are rather dark brassy grey.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

Adults are on wing from late May to July in one generation per year.^[6]

The larvae feed on Alnus glutinosa, Alnus glutinosa x incana and Alnus incana. They mine the leaves of their host plant.^[7] Larvae can be found from June and July to October. When full-grown, they cut out an oval case, in which they descend to the ground to pupate.

Notes and References

1. Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf Keys and description
2. Heath, J.,ed. 1976 The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland Vol. 1
3. Langmaid, J. R., Palmer, S. M. & Young, M. R. [eds]. 2018 A Field Guide to the Smaller Moths of Great Britain and Ireland [3rd ed.]Reading, Berkshire. British Entomological and Natural History Society
4. https://lepiforum.org/wiki/page/Heliozela_resplendella lepiforum.de includes images
5. Sterling, P. and Parsons,M. 2012 Field Guide to the Micro Moths of Great Britain and Ireland Dorset British Wildlife Publishing, 2012ISBN 10: 0956490212 / ISBN 13: 9780956490216 - 2nd edition (Bloomsbury Wildlife Guides)
6. https://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=156 Ukmoths
7. Web site: bladmineerders.nl . 2011-10-24 . 2012-07-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120718144842/http://www.bladmineerders.nl/minersf/lepidopteramin/heliozela/resplendella/resplendella.htm . dead .