CASEBEARER

any larva of the cosmopolitan moth family Coleophoridae (order Lepidoptera) of insects. The larvae are light brown with dark heads; they attack apple, birch, cherry, and willow trees, feeding first as leaf miners and then as casebearers. Their cases, which serve as camouflage and protection, are attached perpendicularly to branches, fruits, leaves, or twigs; the larvae protrude from them to feed. The cases, in which the larvae overwinter, are made from leaves, twigs, silk, and excrement. Typical case shapes vary from that of a cigar to that of a pistol. Most adults are pale brown or gray with a wingspan of less than 12 mm (0.5 inch). The narrow, pointed wings have a long fringe of hair.