Hantsmoths

Vulnerable (proposed as a future Red Data Book species) on calcareous grassland, limestone pavements and rock ledges on the North and South Downs, the Isle of Wight and the Cotswold Hills in England and the Gower Peninsula, South Wales (MBGBI Vol 3). Not recorded from the Isle of Wight since 1939 and never in Hampshire. Wingspan 15-19 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 Common Rock-rose, living within a movable case.

VC10 Isle of Wight