Phyllonorycter scudderella 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 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 widespread in eastern North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 from Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 to Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 and in western North America from south-eastern 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...

 to Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

.

The length of the forewings is 3-4.3 mm. Adults are on wing from mid March to early May and from late June to early October. There are probably two generations 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 Salix babylonica, Salix bebbiana

Salix bebbiana

Salix bebbiana is a species of Willow that is indigenous to Canada and the northern United States, from Alaska and Yukon south to California and Arizona and north-east to Newfoundland and New England...

, Salix discolor

Salix discolor

Salix discolor is a species of willow native to North America, one of two species commonly called Pussy Willow.It is native to the northern forests and wetlands of Canada and the northeastern contiguous United States .It is a weak-wooded deciduous shrub or...

and Salix candida

Salix candida

Salix candida, also known as sageleaf willow, is a shrub in the Salicaceae family found in northern United States and Canada. It is .5 to 3.5 m tall.-External links:**...

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 small tentiform blotch on the underside of the leaf. It is located between the veins. It is elongate-oval and somewhat wrinkled.