Leucoptera astragali

Leucoptera astragali
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lyonetiidae
Genus: Leucoptera
Species: L. astragali
Binomial name
Leucoptera astragali
Mey & Corley, 1999

Leucoptera astragali is a moth in the Lyonetiidae family. It is found in Portugal and Tunisia.

The larvae feed on Astragalus lusitanicus. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a blotch, the end of which occupies a large part of the leaflet. The mine is enlarged in a concentric pattern. There is much granular frass, that is glued to the upper epidermis and gives most of the central area of the mine a dark appearance. The full-grown larvae make a semicircular exit slit in the upper epidermis to leave the mine. Pupation takes place within a cocoon.

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