Trifurcula ridiculosa
Encyclopedia
Trifurcula ridiculosa is a moth
of the Nepticulidae
family. It is only known from the Canary Islands
: Tenerife
, La Palma
, La Gomera
, El Hierro
and Madeira
, including Porto Santo island
.
The wingspan
is 4.1–4.5 mm for males and 3.8–4.1 mm for females. It probably breeds continuously. Larvae have been found in February, April, September, October and December. Adults emerged within three to six weeks after collecting.
The larvae feed on Lotus arabicus, Lotus campylocladus, Lotus glaucus, Lotus glinoides, Lotus pedunculatus and Lotus sessilifolius. The mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a long and very narrow corridor, following the leaf margin, suddenly widening into an elongated blotch. Small leaflets are almost entirely mined out. 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 only known from the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
: Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, La Palma
La Palma
La Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands...
, La Gomera
La Gomera
La Gomera is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. In area, it is the second-smallest of the seven main islands of this group.- Political organization :...
, El Hierro
El Hierro
El Hierro, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano , is the smallest and farthest south and west of the Canary Islands , in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a population of 10,162 .- Name :The name El Hierro, although phonetically identical to the Spanish word for 'iron', is generally thought...
and Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
, including Porto Santo island
Porto Santo Island
Porto Santo Island is a Portuguese island northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean; it is the northernmost and easternmost island of the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean west of Europe and Africa.- History :...
.
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 4.1–4.5 mm for males and 3.8–4.1 mm for females. It probably breeds continuously. Larvae have been found in February, April, September, October and December. Adults emerged within three to six weeks after collecting.
The larvae feed on Lotus arabicus, Lotus campylocladus, Lotus glaucus, Lotus glinoides, Lotus pedunculatus and Lotus sessilifolius. The 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 consists of a long and very narrow corridor, following the leaf margin, suddenly widening into an elongated blotch. Small leaflets are almost entirely mined out. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.