Phyllonorycter geniculella
| Phyllonorycter geniculella | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Gracillariidae |
| Genus: | Phyllonorycter |
| Species: | P. geniculella |
| Binomial name | |
| Phyllonorycter geniculella (Ragonot, 1874)[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
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Phyllonorycter geniculella is a moth of the Gracillariidae family. It is found from Sweden to the Pyrenees, Italy and Bulgaria and from Great Britain to southern Russia.
The wingspan is about 8 mm. There are two generations per year with adults on wing in May and again in August.[2]
The larvae feed on Acer pseudoplatanus. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as an inconspicuous lower surface epidermal corridor. This corridor is followed, and mostly replaced, by a relatively small, lower-surface, tentiform mine with many weak folds. If the mine is located near the leaf margin, the leaf may fold downwards over the mine. The pupa is made in the mine and is dark brownish black. It is made in a loosely spun cocoon. The frass is deposited in a corner of the mine.[3]