Hantsmoths

Nationally scarce (Nb) in bare muddy places and sand-dunes in the south-western counties of England and Ireland, and the Channel Island. In Hampshire mainly restricted to the south-east corner of the county, with a few records from bogs in the New Forest; on the Isle of Wight, recorded at Yarmouth in 1992, but not subsequently. Wingspan 10-12 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 feeds within seed capsules of Toad Rush, living within a movable case.