Hantsmoths

Local in damp meadows, marshes, river-banks and woodland rides throughout much of Britain, but not in northern Scotland; occurs also in the southern half of Ireland and in the Channel Islands. In southern Hampshire, widespread and common in the east, notably in and around Botley Wood, and also recorded from the Beaulieu Estate and Needs Ore; very rare in the north of the county, where the only recent records are from Leckford, and on the Isle of Wight. Wingspan 13-15 mm. Very similar to C. trochilella, from which only separated in 1962. 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 mines leaves of Hemp-agrimony, Common Fleabane and Ploughman's-spikenard, living within a movable case.