Dyseriocrania auricyanea
| Dyseriocrania auricyanea | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Eriocraniidae |
| Genus: | Dyseriocrania |
| Species: | D. auricyanea |
| Binomial name | |
| Dyseriocrania auricyanea (Walsingham, 1882) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Dyseriocrania auricyanea is a moth of the family Eriocraniidae. It was described by Walsingham in 1882. It is found in California.[1]
The wingspan is 10.5–13 mm for males and 9.3–10.5 mm for females. The forewings are pale golden brown, and rather distinctly marked with several small patches of darker, purplish scales. The hindwings are slightly darker in color and more grayish brown with a slight purplish luster. Adults are on wing from early March to mid April in one generation per year.
The larvae possibly feed on Quercus agrifolia, Quercus douglasii, Quercus dumosa, Quercus lobata and Quercus wislizenii. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a linear or slightly curved passage to the leaf margin. It is then quickly enlarged to an inflated, full length blotch. Full-grown larvae leave the mine through a slit in the upper leaf epidermis and drop to the ground. They then burrow into the litter beneath the host plant and form a whitish silken cocoon covered with darker soil particles. The larvae have a brownish body and an dark brown head.