Stigmella dryadella
Encyclopedia
Stigmella dryadella is a moth
of the Nepticulidae
family. It is found from Fennoscandia
and northern Russia
to the Pyrenees
and Italy
, and from Ireland
to Romania
.
The wingspan
is 4.5-5.5 mm.
The larvae feed on Dryas octopetala
. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a narrow corridor, descending towards the base of the leaf while following the leaf margin. Later, the corridor reverses its direction, and widens into al blotch that may occupy half of the leaf. The frass is concentrated in the corridor as a broad central ribbon and is broadly scattered in the blotch.
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 Nepticulidae
Nepticulidae
Nepticulidae is a family of very small moths with a worldwide distribution. They are characterised by eyecaps over the eyes . These pigmy moths or midget moths, as they are commonly known, include the smallest of all living moths, with a wingspan that can be as little as 3 mm...
family. It is found from Fennoscandia
Fennoscandia
Fennoscandia and Fenno-Scandinavia are geographic and geological terms used to describe the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula, Karelia and Finland...
and northern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
to the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.
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 4.5-5.5 mm.
The larvae feed on Dryas octopetala
Dryas octopetala
Dryas octopetala is an arctic-alpine flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is a small prostrate evergreen subshrub forming large colonies, and is a popular flower in rock gardens...
. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a narrow corridor, descending towards the base of the leaf while following the leaf margin. Later, the corridor reverses its direction, and widens into al blotch that may occupy half of the leaf. The frass is concentrated in the corridor as a broad central ribbon and is broadly scattered in the blotch.