Description

Adult

Small with a wingspan of 6-9 mm and body length of ca. 3 mm. Forewings orangey-brown with silvery-white streaks and golden coloured scales. Hindwings narrow with a long fringe.

Larvae

Early instars are white to pale green, flattened with a wedge- shaped head and no legs. The final instar is pale to deep yellow in colour and is more cylindrical with legs and prolegs.

Eggs

Translucent to white coloured, ca. 1.5 mm in diameter. Laid singly, usually on the under surface of leaves.

Distribution

Europe, North America, the Middle East and western Asia.

Economic Host(s)

Primarily apple trees (Malus)

Symptoms/Signs

Larvae feed within leaf mines. After hatching, larvae enter the leaf tissue on the underside of leaves. As the larvae switches from sap feeding to tissue feeding the mines become visible on the upperside of leaves. Mines appear as pale yellow-green regions, usually with folds in the leaf. Pupation occurs in the mine.

Generations:

3-4 (climate dependent)