This particular Dog rose (Rosa canina) was generous with its leafminers. Not only did I see the feeding signs and case-bearing larva of Coleophora gryphipennella (see my 13 November blog post) but I also found my first leafmines of Stigmella anomalella, also known appropriately enough as the Rose leaf miner (there are photos of the adult moth on the UK Moths website).

As you can see, the larvae create long meandering galleries that are initially narrow and completely filled with frass, then later widen to show clear space on either side of the line of frass. The British Leafminers website notes that the gallery often ‘crosses back over itself’ as my image shows – well, actually, it’s crossing back under itself, but you get the idea. I was also lucky to spot larvae in mines on two of the leaves I looked at. These mines can be found around July and then again between October and December, so check out those Dog rose leaves before they all fall.