Ectoedemia erythrogenella
Encyclopedia
Ectoedemia erythrogenella is a moth
of the Nepticulidae
family. It is found from the coast of southern Great Britain
and western France
to the Iberian Peninsula
, Corsica
, Sardinia
, Sicily
, Greece
and Cyprus
.
The wingspan
is 4.1-5.6 mm. Adults are on wing from May to July. There is one generations per year.
The larvae feed on Rubus sanguineus and Rubus ulmifolius
. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a narrow corridor, largely filled with frass and following a vein. Now and then, a hairpin turn occurs. The corridor widens into an elongate blotch with dispersed black frass in the base or along the sides. Generally the leaf around the mine is intensely coloured wine red over a large area.
There is a very long period of larval feeding. In the northern part of its range larvae from September until November, but in the south larvae can be found all over the winter until March, April and occasionally later.
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 Nepticulidae
Nepticulidae
Nepticulidae is a family of very small moths with a worldwide distribution. They are characterised by eyecaps over the eyes . These pigmy moths or midget moths, as they are commonly known, include the smallest of all living moths, with a wingspan that can be as little as 3 mm...
family. It is found from the coast of southern 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...
and western 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...
to the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
, Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on 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 4.1-5.6 mm. Adults are on wing from May to July. There is one generations per year.
The larvae feed on Rubus sanguineus and Rubus ulmifolius
Rubus ulmifolius
Rubus ulmifolius is a species of wild blackberry known by the English common name elmleaf blackberry or thornless blackberry and the Spanish common name zarzamora. It is native to Europe and North Africa, and it is widely known elsewhere as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed...
. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a narrow corridor, largely filled with frass and following a vein. Now and then, a hairpin turn occurs. The corridor widens into an elongate blotch with dispersed black frass in the base or along the sides. Generally the leaf around the mine is intensely coloured wine red over a large area.
There is a very long period of larval feeding. In the northern part of its range larvae from September until November, but in the south larvae can be found all over the winter until March, April and occasionally later.