Parornix alpicola
Encyclopedia
Parornix alpicola is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from the Alps
and Scotland
, where it is confined to calcareous coastal hillsides on the north coast, where the only known localities are the Invernaver National Nature Reserve
and a spot on the east side of Loch Eriboll
.
The wingspan
is 8-10 mm. There is one generation per year.
The larva
e feed on Dryas octopetala
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The larvae start by making a lower-surfsce epidermal corridor. Next, larvae begin to feed on the sponge parenchyma and later also on the palissade parenchyhma. This causes the initial corridor to become destroyed. The final mine is full depth and occupies about half of a leaf. It is located on one side of the midrib and is almost flat. Finally, the larva leaves the mine and spins a new leaf into a pod, that is eaten from the inside.
. Others argue that Parornix alpicola differs from scoticella in its much darker antenna, in having an even greater admixture of white in the pattern of the forewing and in having only the apical dot darker than the ground colour.
Furthermore, the Scottish population is often treated as the distinct subspecies leucostola
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 Gracillariidae
Gracillariidae
Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, Cameraria ohridella....
family. It is known from the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, where it is confined to calcareous coastal hillsides on the north coast, where the only known localities are the Invernaver National Nature Reserve
Invernaver
Invernaver is a small, remote hamlet, situated on the west bank of the River Naver as it flows into Torrisdale Bay, in Sutherland, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland....
and a spot on the east side of Loch Eriboll
Loch Eriboll
Loch Eriboll is a long sea loch on the north coast of Scotland, which has been used for centuries as a deep water anchorage as it is safe from the often stormy seas of Cape Wrath and the Pentland Firth...
.
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 8-10 mm. There is one generation per year.
The larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e feed on Dryas octopetala
Dryas octopetala
Dryas octopetala is an arctic-alpine flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is a small prostrate evergreen subshrub forming large colonies, and is a popular flower in rock gardens...
. 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 larvae start by making a lower-surfsce epidermal corridor. Next, larvae begin to feed on the sponge parenchyma and later also on the palissade parenchyhma. This causes the initial corridor to become destroyed. The final mine is full depth and occupies about half of a leaf. It is located on one side of the midrib and is almost flat. Finally, the larva leaves the mine and spins a new leaf into a pod, that is eaten from the inside.
Taxonomy
Some authors consider Parornix alpicola to be a synonym of Parornix scoticellaParornix scoticella
Parornix scoticella is a moth of the Gracillariidae family. It is known from all of Europe.The wingspan is about 10 mm. Adults are on wing in May and again in August in two generations in southern parts of the range and in one generation with adults in August in the north.The larvae feed on...
. Others argue that Parornix alpicola differs from scoticella in its much darker antenna, in having an even greater admixture of white in the pattern of the forewing and in having only the apical dot darker than the ground colour.
Furthermore, the Scottish population is often treated as the distinct subspecies leucostola