Phyllonorycter froelichiella
Encyclopedia
Phyllonorycter froelichiella is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is found in all of Europe
, except Greece
.
The wingspan
is 9-10 mm. Adults are on wing from July to August in one generation in western Europe.
The larva
e feed on Alnus glutinosa and Alnus incana. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. They create a large, lower-surface tentiform mine. The mine often occupies the entire space between two side veins, from the midrib almost to the leaf margin. There are no clear folds in the lower epidermis. Unlike other Phyllonorycter
species that feed on Alnus, the larvae are grey (instead of white). The pupa is made in a light brown cocoon that is fastened to the roof of the mine.
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 found in all of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, except 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 9-10 mm. Adults are on wing from July to August in one generation in western Europe.
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 Alnus glutinosa and Alnus incana. 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. They create a large, lower-surface tentiform mine. The mine often occupies the entire space between two side veins, from the midrib almost to the leaf margin. There are no clear folds in the lower epidermis. Unlike other Phyllonorycter
Phyllonorycter
Phyllonorycter is a genus of moths in the family Gracillariidae.-Diversity:The genus comprises about 400 species, with a worldwide distribution. The vast majority of species are found in the temperate regions, with about 257 species described from the Palaearctic region and 81 from the Nearctic...
species that feed on Alnus, the larvae are grey (instead of white). The pupa is made in a light brown cocoon that is fastened to the roof of the mine.