Phyllonorycter tritaenianella
Encyclopedia
Phyllonorycter symphoricarpaeella is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from Québec
and the United States
(including Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts).
The wingspan
is 7-8 mm.
The larva
e feed on Ostrya
species, including Ostrya virginiana
and Ostrya virginica. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a rather large roundish blotch mine on the upperside of the leaf. At first the mine is a flat blotch, and the loosened epidermis is white, sparsely speckled with brown. Later, by contraction of the epidermis, the mine becomes roomy and tentiform and the leaf is completely folded over. The larva is green and of the cylindrical type, and spins a thin ovoid silken cocoon, fastened to the leaf 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 Québec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
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, Maine, Michigan, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts).
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 7-8 mm.
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 Ostrya
Ostrya
Ostrya is a genus of eight to ten small deciduous trees belonging to the birch family Betulaceae. Its common name is Hophornbeam in American English and Hop-hornbeam in British English. It may also be called ironwood, a name shared with a number of other plants.The genus is native in southern...
species, including Ostrya virginiana
Ostrya virginiana
Ostrya virginiana , is a species of Ostrya native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Manitoba and eastern Wyoming, southeast to northern Florida and southwest to eastern Texas and northeastern Mexico...
and Ostrya virginica. 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 rather large roundish blotch mine on the upperside of the leaf. At first the mine is a flat blotch, and the loosened epidermis is white, sparsely speckled with brown. Later, by contraction of the epidermis, the mine becomes roomy and tentiform and the leaf is completely folded over. The larva is green and of the cylindrical type, and spins a thin ovoid silken cocoon, fastened to the leaf above and below.