Trifurcula salvifoliae
Encyclopedia
Trifurcula salvifoliae is a moth
of the Nepticulidae
family. It is found in Spain
.
The wingspan
is 4.2-4.8 mm.
The larvae feed on Salvia lavandulifolia
. The mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a full-depth, very narrow corridor, hardly widening in the end. The first one third is particularly narrow and closely follows the leaf margin. The sides are irregularly scalloped. The frass
line is irregular, almost filling the corridor but always leaving clear margins. 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 in 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...
.
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 4.2-4.8 mm.
The larvae feed on Salvia lavandulifolia
Salvia lavandulifolia
Salvia lavandulifolia is a small woody herbaceous perennial native to Spain and southern France, growing in rocky soil in Maquis shrubland, often found growing with Rosemary, Lavandula lanata, and Genista cinerea....
. 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 full-depth, very narrow corridor, hardly widening in the end. The first one third is particularly narrow and closely follows the leaf margin. The sides are irregularly scalloped. The 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...
line is irregular, almost filling the corridor but always leaving clear margins. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.