Trifurcula coronillae
Encyclopedia
Trifurcula coronillae is a moth
of the Nepticulidae
family. It is found along the Mediterranean coast of Spain
, but probably has a wider range.
The wingspan
is 5.6-6.7 mm for males and 5.4-6.4 mm for females. Adults emerge from May to August. There is probably one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Coronilla juncea. The larva makes a very conspicuous gallery mine in the green bark, in which the living larva can easily been seen. The mine often starts contorting, frequently encircling the stem. The larva usually feeds downward first, but later changes feeding direction one or more times. The mine usually ends in an upwards direction. The mine is filled with greenish brown frass
. There are often numerous mines in a single stem. The cocoon is brown and made in the soil or leaf litter. Larvae have been collected in January and February, but many mines were already vacated in that period, so that larvae probably start mining in autumn.
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 along the Mediterranean coast of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, but probably has a wider range.
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 5.6-6.7 mm for males and 5.4-6.4 mm for females. Adults emerge from May to August. There is probably one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Coronilla juncea. The larva makes a very conspicuous gallery mine in the green bark, in which the living larva can easily been seen. The mine often starts contorting, frequently encircling the stem. The larva usually feeds downward first, but later changes feeding direction one or more times. The mine usually ends in an upwards direction. The mine is filled with greenish brown frass
Frass
Frass is the fine powdery material phytophagous insects pass as waste after digesting plant parts. It causes plants to excrete chitinase due to high chitin levels, it is a natural bloom stimulant, and has high nutrient levels. Frass is known to have abundant amoeba, beneficial bacteria, and fungi...
. There are often numerous mines in a single stem. The cocoon is brown and made in the soil or leaf litter. Larvae have been collected in January and February, but many mines were already vacated in that period, so that larvae probably start mining in autumn.