Trifurcula sanctibenedicti
Encyclopedia
Trifurcula sanctibenedicti is a moth
of the Nepticulidae
family. It is found in Spain
.
The wingspan
is 5-5.5 mm.
The larvae feed on Bupleurum fruticescens. The mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a corridor, mostly starting in or near the tip of the leaf and winding in two loops along the parallel leaf veins. The mine is upper-surface and whitish, resembling a Diptera
mine. The frass
is deposited in a narrow, dark brown or black, often interrupted, central line, occupying about one third of the width of the corridor. 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 5-5.5 mm.
The larvae feed on Bupleurum fruticescens. 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 corridor, mostly starting in or near the tip of the leaf and winding in two loops along the parallel leaf veins. The mine is upper-surface and whitish, resembling a Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
mine. 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...
is deposited in a narrow, dark brown or black, often interrupted, central line, occupying about one third of the width of the corridor. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.