Ectoedemia mahalebella
Encyclopedia
Ectoedemia mahalebella is a moth
of the Nepticulidae
family. It is found from the Czech Republic
and Slovakia
to the Pyrenees
, Italy
and Greece
.
The wingspan
is 4.3-5.3 mm. Adults are on wing from May to June. There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Prunus avium
, Prunus cerasifera, Prunus cerasus, Prunus cocomilia
, Prunus domestica
, Prunus fruticosa
, Prunus mahaleb
, Prunus spinosa
and Prunus tenella
. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a narrow corridor, filled with reddish frass. Normally, the corridor is strongly contorted, unless when it follows the leaf margin. The corridor widens into a small, round blotch. In the blotch, the frass is blackish and is concentrated in the centre.
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 Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
to the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, 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....
.
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 4.3-5.3 mm. Adults are on wing from May to June. There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Prunus avium
Prunus avium
Prunus avium, commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, bird cherry, or gean, is a species of cherry, native to Europe, west Turkey, northwest Africa, and western Asia, from the British Isles south to Morocco and Tunisia, north to the Trondheimsfjord region in Norway and east to the Caucasus, and...
, Prunus cerasifera, Prunus cerasus, Prunus cocomilia
Prunus cocomilia
Prunus cocomilia is a species of plum commonly called Italian plum. It is endemic to Turkey, and well known in Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia, where it is called Dzenerika or Dzanja.-References:...
, Prunus domestica
Prunus domestica
Prunus domestica is a Prunus species with many varieties. These are often called "plums" in common English, though not all plums belong to this species. Its hybrid parentage is believed to be Prunus spinosa and Prunus cerasifera var. divaricata...
, Prunus fruticosa
Prunus fruticosa
Prunus fruticosa, the European dwarf cherry, or Dwarf cherry, Mongolian cherry or Steppe cherry is a deciduous, xerophytic, winter-hardy, cherry-bearing shrub...
, Prunus mahaleb
Prunus mahaleb
Prunus mahaleb is a species of cherry native to central and southern Europe, western and central Asia, and northwest Africa, from Morocco north to France, southern Belgium, and Germany, and east to northern Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan.It is a deciduous tree or large...
, Prunus spinosa
Prunus spinosa
Prunus spinosa is a species of Prunus native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America....
and Prunus tenella
Prunus tenella
Prunus tenella Batsch, Dwarf Russian Almond, is a species of deciduous shrubs in the genus Prunus, native to steppes of Eastern Europe and Western Siberia, as well as dry open sites of Caucasus, Western and Central Asia. In the wild, it tends to grow in clusters of one to three. P. tenella yields...
. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a narrow corridor, filled with reddish frass. Normally, the corridor is strongly contorted, unless when it follows the leaf margin. The corridor widens into a small, round blotch. In the blotch, the frass is blackish and is concentrated in the centre.