Appearance
The species was known as "Gillmeria tetradactyla" until recently, but is now known as "Gillmeria ochrodactyla". "Gillmeria tetradactyla" is now an invalid name. Reason for this decision is to eliminate the confusion with "Platyptilia tetradactyla"."Gillmeria ochrodactyla" has a wingspan of 24–28 millimetres and is superficially similar to "Gillmeria pallidactyla". "G. ochrodactyla" has brown and white bands on its hindlegs below the middle spurs, whereas the legs of "G pallidactyla" are not banded. The moth is single-brooded, flying from late June to August, can be found resting on the flower-heads of the larval food plant, tansy. After dark, the imago will come to light.
The larvae initially feed on tansy flowers in August, then mine down a shoot, and from November to March, diapause in the roots. In April the larvae eat in to a new-growth stem mining for about 2 cm, moves to a fresh position in the stem, or to a new stem to continue mining until early June. Larvae can be found by searching for wilted stems, or for frass under leaf sheafs. "G. pallidactyla" larvae have been found on tansy but the mature larvae feed externally on the stem, rather than mining the stem.
Distribution
It is found in most of Europe and has recently been recorded from Iran and Tajikistan.References:
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