Phyllonorycter erugatus
Encyclopedia
Phyllonorycter erugatus is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from widely scattered localities from Santa Clara County near sea level in mid-coastal California
north to southern Alaska
and west to the Rocky Mountains
of Colorado
to elevations of 2,800 meters.
The length of the forewings is 3.7-4.8 mm. Adults are on wing from late July to early October. There might be two generations per year in the southern part of the range.
The larva
e feed on Populus balsamifera
and possibly other Populus 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 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 widely scattered localities from Santa Clara County near sea level in mid-coastal California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
north to southern Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and west to the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
to elevations of 2,800 meters.
The length of the forewings is 3.7-4.8 mm. Adults are on wing from late July to early October. There might be two generations per year in the southern part of the range.
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 Populus balsamifera
Populus balsamifera
Populus balsamifera, commonly called balsam poplar, bamtree, eastern balsam poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca,...
and possibly other Populus 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.