Cosmopterix fernaldella
Encyclopedia
Cosmopterix fernaldella is a moth
of the Cosmopterigidae
family. It is known from the United States
(from Maine
and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan
south to New Jersey
and Pennsylvania
, Wisconsin
and Minnesota
) and Canada
(Quebec
, Ontario
, British Columbia
).
Male, female. Forewing length 4.8-5.0 mm. Head: frons shining pale ochreous with greenish and reddish reflections, vertex and neck tufts shining golden brown, medially and laterally lined white, collar golden brown; labial palpus first segment very short, white, second segment three-quarters of the length of third, greyish brown with white longitudinal lines laterally and ventrally, third segment white, lined dark brown laterally; scape brown with a white anterior line, white ventrally, antenna shining dark brown, a short white line from base to one-fifth, at two-thirds two white rings consisting of one segment each, divided by three dark brown segments, followed towards apex by ten dark brown, one white and six dark brown segments at apex. Thorax and tegulae golden brown, thorax with a white median line, tegulae lined white inwardly. Legs: ochreous-grey, femur of hindleg shining ochreous-white with purplish refection, foreleg with a white line on tibia and tarsal segments one to three and five, tibia of midleg with an oblique basal white line, a white medial spot and a white apical ring, tarsal segments one and two with white dorsal spot at apex, segment five entirely white, tibia of hindleg with oblique basal and medial white lines and a white apical ring, tarsal segments dorsally white, spurs brownish grey on the outside, white on the inside. Forewing golden brown, five rather indistinct ochreous-white lines in the basal area, a broad costal from one-quarter to the inward costal protrusion of the transverse fascia, a subcostal from base to one-quarter, bending gradually from costa in distal half, an almost straight medial above fold, from one-fifth to one-third, a short and somewhat oblique subdorsal ending just beyond the medial, a dorsal from beyond base to one-quarter, a greyish ochreous transverse fascia beyond the middle, narrowed towards dorsum and with a narrow apical protrusion, bordered at the inner edge by two greenish golden metallic tubercular subcostal and dorsal spots, the subcostal spot twice as large as the dorsal and outwardly edged by a patch of blackish brown scales, the dorsal spot slightly further from base, bordered at the outer edge by two similarly coloured costal and dorsal spots, the dorsal spot about twice as large as the costal and more towards base, both spots edged dark brown on the inside, a yellowish white costal streak from the outer costal spot and a narrow whitish apical line from the apical protrusion, cilia ochreous-brown, ochreous-grey towards dorsum. Hindwing shining grey, cilia ochreous-grey. Underside: forewing shining greyish brown, the whitish apical line indistinctly visible in the cilia, hindwing shining greyish brown. Abdomen dorsally shining pale golden brown, laterally shining grey, ventrally shining yellowish white, anal tuft yellowish white.
species. They mine
the leaves of their host plant.
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 Cosmopterigidae
Cosmopterigidae
Cosmopterigidae is a family of insects in the Lepidoptera order. These are small moths with narrow wings whose tiny larvae feed internally on the leaves, seeds, stems, etc of their host plants. There are about 1,500 described species...
family. It is known from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
south to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
) and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
).
Description
- See glossaryGlossary of Lepidopteran termsThis glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....
for terms used
Male, female. Forewing length 4.8-5.0 mm. Head: frons shining pale ochreous with greenish and reddish reflections, vertex and neck tufts shining golden brown, medially and laterally lined white, collar golden brown; labial palpus first segment very short, white, second segment three-quarters of the length of third, greyish brown with white longitudinal lines laterally and ventrally, third segment white, lined dark brown laterally; scape brown with a white anterior line, white ventrally, antenna shining dark brown, a short white line from base to one-fifth, at two-thirds two white rings consisting of one segment each, divided by three dark brown segments, followed towards apex by ten dark brown, one white and six dark brown segments at apex. Thorax and tegulae golden brown, thorax with a white median line, tegulae lined white inwardly. Legs: ochreous-grey, femur of hindleg shining ochreous-white with purplish refection, foreleg with a white line on tibia and tarsal segments one to three and five, tibia of midleg with an oblique basal white line, a white medial spot and a white apical ring, tarsal segments one and two with white dorsal spot at apex, segment five entirely white, tibia of hindleg with oblique basal and medial white lines and a white apical ring, tarsal segments dorsally white, spurs brownish grey on the outside, white on the inside. Forewing golden brown, five rather indistinct ochreous-white lines in the basal area, a broad costal from one-quarter to the inward costal protrusion of the transverse fascia, a subcostal from base to one-quarter, bending gradually from costa in distal half, an almost straight medial above fold, from one-fifth to one-third, a short and somewhat oblique subdorsal ending just beyond the medial, a dorsal from beyond base to one-quarter, a greyish ochreous transverse fascia beyond the middle, narrowed towards dorsum and with a narrow apical protrusion, bordered at the inner edge by two greenish golden metallic tubercular subcostal and dorsal spots, the subcostal spot twice as large as the dorsal and outwardly edged by a patch of blackish brown scales, the dorsal spot slightly further from base, bordered at the outer edge by two similarly coloured costal and dorsal spots, the dorsal spot about twice as large as the costal and more towards base, both spots edged dark brown on the inside, a yellowish white costal streak from the outer costal spot and a narrow whitish apical line from the apical protrusion, cilia ochreous-brown, ochreous-grey towards dorsum. Hindwing shining grey, cilia ochreous-grey. Underside: forewing shining greyish brown, the whitish apical line indistinctly visible in the cilia, hindwing shining greyish brown. Abdomen dorsally shining pale golden brown, laterally shining grey, ventrally shining yellowish white, anal tuft yellowish white.
Biology
The larvae feed on CarexCarex
Carex is a genus of plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges. Other members of the Cyperaceae family are also called sedges, however those of genus Carex may be called "true" sedges, and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of Carex is known as...
species. 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.