Pebobs ipomoeae is a moth

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 Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

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Adult

Male, female. Forewing length 3.4 3.7 mm. Head: frons shining ochreous-grey with greenish and reddish reflections, vertex shining ochreous-brown with greenish and reddish reflections, neck tufts and collar shining bronze brown with reddish gloss; labial palpus first segment very short, white, second segment four-fifths of the length of third, dark brown with white longitudinal lines laterally and ventrally, third segment white, lined brown laterally; scape dorsally shining dark brown with a white anterior line, ventrally white, antenna shining dark brown, with a white line from base to two-thirds, in distal half more or less interrupted, followed towards apex by two white segments, ten dark brown and seven white segments at apex. Thorax and tegulae shining bronze brown with reddish gloss, thorax, including metathorax, with a white median line. Legs: femora of midleg and hindleg shining ochreous, foreleg brownish grey with a white line on tibia and tarsal segments, tibia of midleg brownish grey with white oblique basal and medial lines and a white apical ring, tarsal segments one, two and four with white apical rings, segment five entirely white, tibia of hindleg ochreous-brown with a white, very oblique line from base to beyond middle and a white apical ring, tarsal segment one with white basal and ochreous apical rings, segments two and three with ochreous apical rings, segments four and five entirely ochreous, spurs ochreous-grey. Forewing shining bronze brown, five narrow white lines in the basal area, a first subcostal, close to costa, from base to one-third, distally very slightly bending from costa, followed by a short second subcostal between the end of first and the transverse fascia, a medial starting just beyond base to just beyond the first subcostal, a subdorsal, starting just before the end of the medial to the end of the second subcostal, a dorsal from beyond base to one-third, a pale yellow transverse fascia beyond the middle, narrowed towards dorsum on the inside with a costal and dorsal prolongation towards apex and with an apical protrusion in the middle to beyond one half of the apical area, bordered at the inner edge by two tubercular pale golden metallic subcostal and dorsal spots, the subcostal spot with a patch of blackish scales on the outside, the dorsal spot further from base than the costal, at three-quarters of transverse fascia two tubercular pale golden metallic costal and dorsal spots, the costal spot lined brown on the inside, the dorsal spot twice as large and slightly more towards base than the costal, a white costal streak from the outer costal spot, a white apical line from the apical protrusion to apex, not in the cilia, cilia bronze brown around apex, paler towards dorsum. Hindwing shining brownish grey, cilia pale brown. Underside: forewing shining greyish brown, distally paler, the apical line visible, hindwing as forewing, but paler in dorsal half. Abdomen not examined, already used for dissection.

Larva

Length 7 mm, head yellow with dark eyespots and mouth parts, body white with one dorsal and two lateral narrow wine-red longitudinal lines.

Biology

The larvae feed on Ipomoea

Ipomoea

Ipomoea is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 500 species. Most of these are called "morning glories", but this can refer to related genera also. Those formerly separated in Calonyction are called "moonflowers"...

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. The mine has the form of a clear, irregular blotch with short silk-lined galleries inside, in which the larva retreats when disturbed. Pupation takes place outside of the mine in an inconspicuous, matted, flat cocoon. Adults have been collected from October to February and in May.