Feathered Diamond-back

A catching-up day with a short garden safari to interrupt the more prosaic tasks. I found yet another metallic micro-moth feeding on the cow parsley, this time with two cream patches and a definite purplish sheen. The Feathered Diamond-back is a common enough species and has been recorded from our garden a number of times. The males of this moth have comb-like or 'pectinate' antennae, a feature unusual among the 'micros'. 

The larvae mine leaves at first, later descending to the ground in a portable case and feeding on dead leaves. A number of deciduous trees and bushes can be used, but it is especially fond of hawthorn. It was found close to our small stretch of hawthorn and field maple hedge, under the shade of the apple trees, so could be on any of those.