Coleophora sp.
There are probably well over 200 species of Coleophora moths in Britain. All are small to very small moths, reaching a wingspan of 9 tot 20 mm only. Many species are extremely similar and can be told apart only after microscopic examination. The caterpillars of most small species live inside the leaf of a plant or tree. In such a case we say they are mining the leaf. The way the larvae mine a leaf is usually typical of the species. Thus it is often more easy to name a species by looking at the pattern of the mines than by actually looking at the caterpillar or the adult. The larvae of many bigger species of Coleophora spin a cocoon to live in. In the top pictures a Coleophora adult. In the bottom pictures an exemple of such a cocoon. Again we haven't been able to identify the species. It is very unlikely the adult and the larva in the pictures are of the same species!
