Birch Eriocranias

While on your permitted exercise, now is a good time to check birch leaves for Eriocrania mines because they are usually quite obvious.  Yesterday afternoon, while walking the dog near the entrance to the Westcott Venture Park, I noticed a couple of active mines on some quite young birch.  All are relatively easy to identify provided that there is a larva present and in this case its colour, dark grey, is diagnostic for Eriocrania sangii.  This one also seems to have just shed a skin. 

Active mine of Eriocrania sangii, Westcott 24th April

The other species mining birch now will be cicatricella (often more than one larva to a mine), unimaculella, salopiella and semipurpurella, while sparrmannella will start to mine towards the end of May.  All of them are found in our area but will be under-recorded.  

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks