Yorkshire Status: Local resident.

This species was added to the Yorkshire list when one was beaten from gorse on Skipwith Common in 2003. It is likely that it has been lurking in the county undetected for some time, and it may be considerably more common than the dots on the map suggest. It is most easily found by looking for leaf mines on gorse, but this can be tricky unless you know exactly what you are looking for. Do not look at vigorous plants covered in flowers, but focus on long thin spindly stems and on smaller more isolated bushes. The larva initially feeds in the epidermis causing slight blistering, then mines along the interior of the stem so that a freshly mined stem is pale green and this darkens to a purplish or brownish colour. It may be necessary to take the stem home and gently open it under a microscope. A mass of brown frass should be found inside the stem, with a larva at the end. Once we became better at finding these, by 2024 we had records from all five vice counties.

	Determination by Genitalia Examination (gen. det.) Required

	Mine: Either the leaf or a good photograph required

Recorded in 11 (6%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 2004. Last Recorded in 2024. Additional Stats

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