''Coleophora pennella'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Coleophoridae __NOTOC__ The Coleophoridae are a family of small moths, belonging to the huge superfamily Gelechioidea. Collectively known as case-bearers, casebearing moths or case moths, this family is represented on all continents, but the majority are foun ...

. It is found in most of Europe. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is . Adults are on wing from June to July. The larvae feed on alkanet (''

Anchusa officinalis ''Anchusa officinalis'', commonly known as the common bugloss or alkanet, is a plant species in the genus ''Anchusa''. The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 10 for most nectar production (nectar per u ...

''), houndstongue (''

Cynoglossum officinale ''Cynoglossum officinale'' (houndstongue, houndstooth, dog's tongue, gypsy flower, and rats and mice due to its smell) is a herbaceous plant of the family Boraginaceae. Description It can be either annual or biennial. Leaves are greyish and so ...

''), Italian viper's bugloss ('' Echium italicum''), viper's bugloss (''

Echium vulgare ''Echium vulgare'', known as viper's bugloss and blueweed,Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, p. 203. is a species of flowering plant in the borag ...

''), common gromwell ('' Lithospermum officinale''), forget-me-nots (''

Myosotis ''Myosotis'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. The name comes from the Ancient Greek "mouse's ear", which the foliage is thought to resemble. In the northern hemisphere they are colloquially known as forget-me-nots ...

species)'', monkswort (''

Nonea ''Nonea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. Sometimes known as monkswort, these are herbaceous perennial plant, perennials or Annual plant, annual plants, native to Europe, Asia and Africa. The leaves are grayish-green, ...

species)'', ''

Onosma ''Onosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. They are native to the Mediterranean and western Asia. They grow in dry, sunny habitats with rocky, sandy substrates.Koyuncu, O., et al. (2013)A new ''Onosma'' (Boraginaceae) s ...

'', alkenet (''

Pentaglottis ''Pentaglottis'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. It is represented by a single species, ''Pentaglottis sempervirens'', commonly known as the green alkanet, evergreen bugloss or alkanet, and is a bristly, pe ...

''), lungwort (''

Pulmonaria officinalis ''Pulmonaria officinalis'', common names lungwort, common lungwort, Mary's tears or Our Lady's milk drops, is a herbaceous rhizomatous evergreen perennial plant of the genus ''Pulmonaria'', belonging to the family Boraginaceae. Etymology The ge ...

'') and common comfrey (''

Symphytum officinale ''Symphytum officinale'' is a perennial flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. Along with thirty four other species of ''Symphytum'', it is known as comfrey. To differentiate it from other members of the genus ''Symphytum'', this species is ...

''). Young larvae feed on the developing seeds and hibernate in their first case which is made of the tip of a petal. After hibernation, they make a laterally flattened, composite leaf case. Fleck mines are made at the margin of the leaves. The mouth angle is about 70°. Full-grown larvae can be found from mid May to early June.

References

pennella ''Pennella'' is a genus of large copepods which are common parasites of large pelagic fishes. They begin their life cycle as a series of free-swimming planktonic larvae. The females metamorphose into a parasitic stage when they attach to a host a ...

Leaf miners Moths described in 1775 Moths of Europe Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller {{Coleophoridae-stub