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 sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) mining the leaves. 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 frass is deposited in a corner of the mine. The pupa is formed in the mine and is dark brownish black. It is made in a loosely spun cocoon.[3]