Arthropods • Earth.com

Euspilapteryx auroguttella

(Euspilapteryx auroguttella)

Description

Euspilapteryx auroguttella is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is known from all of Europe. The wingspan is 9–10 mm. Adults are on wing in May and August in two generations. The larvae feed on Hypericum adenotrichum, Hypericum elegans, Hypericum hircinum, Hypericum hirsutum, Hypericum humifusum, Hypericum maculatum, Hypericum montanum, Hypericum olympicum, Hypericum perforatum, Hypericum rhodoppeum and Hypericum tetrapterum . They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a lower-surface epidermal corridor. The last section is widened into a blotch. Only then the larva begins to consume parenchymatous tissue and to line the inside of the mine with silk. The leaf folds itself around the mine. The frass is deposited in a clump in a corner of the mine. Older larvae leave the mine and live freely in a leaf tip that has been folded downwards.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:
Class: Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Family:Gracillariidae
Genus:Euspilapteryx
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