Hantsmoths

Endangered (proposed as a future Red Data Book species) on saltmarshes in the estuary of the River Thames, where it occurs in both Kent and Essex (MBGBI Vol 3). Not recorded in Hampshire or on the Isle of Wight to date. Wingspan 11.5-13.5 mm. 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 Sea Aster, living within a movable case.