Clover Case-bearer - Coleophora alcyonipennella

Wingspan around 12 mm. The species bears a close resemblance to other members of the genus. In sunlight he wings have a purple-red metallic sheen and the antennae whiten slightly towards the tips.

It frequents rough grassy habitats where the main food plant, White Clover, occurs.

Adult moths fly in two generations, in May and June and again in late July and August.

The larva feeds inside a case formed from a floret and are virtually impossible to see on the flower head. Larvae can be obtained by collecting the browning flower heads and waiting for the larvae to detach their cases on the main flower head.

Distributed across much of the British Isles. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

Lack of records suggest that this species is uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland but this is possibly due to the difficulty of identification. L&R Moth Group status = D (rare or rarely recorded)