January leaf-mines

A couple of ancient London Plane trees found in private woodland near Wotton Underwood, Bucks yesterday had at their base fallen leaves containing many mines of Phyllonorycter platani, while a nearby Holm Oak was seen to be covered in mines of Ectoedemia heringella and Phyllonorycter messaniella.  This is a good time of year to seek out Holm Oaks because, being evergreen, they stand out very well (churchyards are a particularly good place to find them). Being a relatively recent arrival in the UK, any records for Ectoedemia heringella will be very useful and certainly in Bucks it is now rare to find a tree without signs of the moth.  The first picture below shows a typical leaf containing a vacated mine of Phyllonorycter messaniella on the left alongside three mines of Ectoedemia heringella (two active and one with a deceased larva).

Leaf of Holm Oak, Wotton Underwood 4th January

Active mine of Ectoedemia heringella, Wotton 4th January

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks