Bucculatrix maritima

Description

Bucculatrix maritima is a moth of the Bucculatricidae family. It is found in most of Europe (except the Balkan Peninsula), Russia and Japan (the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu). The wingspan is 8–9 mm. Adults are on wing in June and again in August. There are two generations per year. The larvae feed on Aster tripolium. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a long, narrow, corridor with brown or black frass in a central line. The mine may be upper- or lower-surface of even interparenchymatous, and often enters the cortex of the stem. The larva vacates the mine after some time and makes several short full depth blotches. Some larvae keep this habit until short before pupation, others soon begin window-feeding.