the larvae feed on "homalanthus" species, "omalanthus populifolius", "sapium ellipticum", "sapium indicum" and "sapium sebiferum". they mine the leaves of their host plant. mines are always started at the upper epidermal layer. the mine at first is narrowly linear, upper epidermal, and transparent-whitish in colour, then it widens to an irregularly blotch-formed mine, which is upper parenchymal and greenish-brown in colour. the third instar larva, transforms to the tissue-feeding type, continues feeding within the mine cavity. the mine in this stage is completely changed in colour to pale brown, and