Antispila treitschkiella
Encyclopedia
Antispila treitschkiella is a species of moth
of the Heliozelidae
family. It is found from Great Britain
to Ukraine
and from Sweden
to France
, Italy
and Greece
. It is also found in Portugal
.
The wingspan
is about 6 mm. Adults are on wing from the end of April to the beginning of June and from July to August.
The larvae feed on Cornus mas and Cornus sanguinea. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a corridor of about 10 mm closely following the leaf margin and containing much frass
. Later, the direction reverses and turns into a full depth blotch. Here, the frass is deposited in scattered grains. Full-grown larvae cover an oval section at the margin of the blotch with a layer of silk. They then cut this loose and drops to the ground within it. Larvae can be found in July and from the end of August to early October. The species overwinters in the larval stage, within the case.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Heliozelidae
Heliozelidae
A family of primitive monotrysian moths in the order Lepidoptera, Heliozelidae are small, metallic day-flying moths with shiny smooth heads, In Europe the small adult moths are seldom noticed as they fly quite early in the Spring...
family. It is found from Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. It is also found in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is about 6 mm. Adults are on wing from the end of April to the beginning of June and from July to August.
The larvae feed on Cornus mas and Cornus sanguinea. They mine
Leaf miner
Leaf miner is a term used to describe the larvae of many different species of insect which live in and eat the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths , sawflies and flies , though some beetles and wasps also exhibit this behavior.Like Woodboring beetles, leaf...
the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a corridor of about 10 mm closely following the leaf margin and containing much frass
Frass
Frass is the fine powdery material phytophagous insects pass as waste after digesting plant parts. It causes plants to excrete chitinase due to high chitin levels, it is a natural bloom stimulant, and has high nutrient levels. Frass is known to have abundant amoeba, beneficial bacteria, and fungi...
. Later, the direction reverses and turns into a full depth blotch. Here, the frass is deposited in scattered grains. Full-grown larvae cover an oval section at the margin of the blotch with a layer of silk. They then cut this loose and drops to the ground within it. Larvae can be found in July and from the end of August to early October. The species overwinters in the larval stage, within the case.