Stigmella myrtillella
Encyclopedia
Stigmella myrtillella is a moth
of the Nepticulidae
family. It is found from Fennoscandia
and northern Russia
to the Pyrenees
, Italy
and Bulgaria
, and from Ireland
to Ukraine
.
The wingspan
is 5,4-6,3 mm. Adults are on wing in May and June.
The larvae feed on Vaccinium myrtillus
and Vaccinium uliginosum
. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a contorted gallery and often a secondary blotch. The frass is concentrated in a thick central line. Pupation takes place outside 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 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...
, 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 Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, 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 Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
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 5,4-6,3 mm. Adults are on wing in May and June.
The larvae feed on Vaccinium myrtillus
Vaccinium myrtillus
Vaccinium myrtillus is an almost Holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit, usually simply referred to as "bilberry" or "whortleberry". It is more precidely called Common Bilberry or Blue Whortleberry, to distinguish it from its Vaccinium relatives...
and Vaccinium uliginosum
Vaccinium uliginosum
Vaccinium uliginosum is a flowering plant in the genus Vaccinium.-Distribution:Vaccinium uliginosum is native to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, at low altitudes in the Arctic, and at high altitudes south to the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Caucasus in Europe, the mountains of...
. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a contorted gallery and often a secondary blotch. The frass is concentrated in a thick central line. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.