Phyllonorycter tiliacella
Encyclopedia
Phyllonorycter tiliacella is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from Canada
(Québec and Ontario) and the United States
(including Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Maine, Vermont and Connecticut).
The larva
e feed on Tilia
species, including Tilia americana
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a tentiform mine on upperside leaf. The mine is white and densely speckled with dark brown. The pupa of the summer brood is suspended in a very slight silken web, in the brood remaining through the winter in the pupal state, a denser cocoon is spun, which is attached above and below.
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 Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(Québec and Ontario) and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(including Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Maine, Vermont and Connecticut).
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 Tilia
Tilia
Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...
species, including Tilia americana
Tilia americana
Tilia americana is a species of Tilia native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Texas, and southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to Cherry County, Nebraska...
. 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 tentiform mine on upperside leaf. The mine is white and densely speckled with dark brown. The pupa of the summer brood is suspended in a very slight silken web, in the brood remaining through the winter in the pupal state, a denser cocoon is spun, which is attached above and below.