Phyllonorycter roboris
Encyclopedia
Phyllonorycter roboris is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is found in all of Europe
.
The wingspan
is 7-9 mm. Adults are on wing in June in one generation.
The larva
e feed on Quercus cerris, Quercus dalechampii, Quercus faginea, Quercus frainetto, Quercus macrocarpa, Quercus pedunculiflora, Quercus petraea, Quercus polycarpa, Quercus pubescens and Quercus robur. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. They create a large, lower-surface tentiform mine. Normally, quite close to the leaf base. The lower epidermis seems smooth, but has many fine length folds. The frass
is deposited as a black mass in a corner 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...
.
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 7-9 mm. Adults are on wing in June in one generation.
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 Quercus cerris, Quercus dalechampii, Quercus faginea, Quercus frainetto, Quercus macrocarpa, Quercus pedunculiflora, Quercus petraea, Quercus polycarpa, Quercus pubescens and Quercus robur. 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. Normally, quite close to the leaf base. The lower epidermis seems smooth, but has many fine length folds. The frass
Frass
Frass is the fine powdery material phytophagous insects pass as waste after digesting plant parts. It causes plants to excrete chitinase due to high chitin levels, it is a natural bloom stimulant, and has high nutrient levels. Frass is known to have abundant amoeba, beneficial bacteria, and fungi...
is deposited as a black mass in a corner of the mine.