Chilocampyla dyariella
Encyclopedia
Chilocampyla dyariella is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from the United States
(Florida).
The wingspan
is 7-8.5 mm.
The larva
e feed on Eugenia
, including Eugenia axillaris, Eugenia foetida
, Eugenia garberi, Eugenia procera and Eugenia rhombea. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a long narrow line along the edge of the leaf for about 25 mm and then turning inward suddenly broadening out in a large bladder-like blotch nearly covering the entire leaf. The upper and lower epidermis are separated and the leaf is inflated and yields to pressure like an air cushion. The mine shows whitish green on the underside, discoloured with purple on the upperside. The inside of the mine looks as if overgrown with a small, whitish pearly fungus. The larva is cylindrical, clear, transparent, with sparse white hairs and 14 legs. The head is light brown with darker reddish brown sutures and two black eyespots. When full grown, it leaves the mine, turns vivid wine red, and spins a dense, oval, yellowish grey cocoon in a slight fold on the leaf. The pupa is white at first. When mature the pupa assumes the coloration of the imago.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Gracillariidae
Gracillariidae
Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, Cameraria ohridella....
family. It is known from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(Florida).
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 7-8.5 mm.
The larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e feed on Eugenia
Eugenia
Eugenia is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,000 species occur in the New World tropics, especially in the northern Andes, the Caribbean, and the...
, including Eugenia axillaris, Eugenia foetida
Eugenia foetida
Eugenia foetida is a member of the family Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, and is colloquially referred to as "Spanish Stopper" or "Boxleaf Stopper."...
, Eugenia garberi, Eugenia procera and Eugenia rhombea. They mine
Leaf miner
Leaf miner is a term used to describe the larvae of many different species of insect which live in and eat the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths , sawflies and flies , though some beetles and wasps also exhibit this behavior.Like Woodboring beetles, leaf...
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a long narrow line along the edge of the leaf for about 25 mm and then turning inward suddenly broadening out in a large bladder-like blotch nearly covering the entire leaf. The upper and lower epidermis are separated and the leaf is inflated and yields to pressure like an air cushion. The mine shows whitish green on the underside, discoloured with purple on the upperside. The inside of the mine looks as if overgrown with a small, whitish pearly fungus. The larva is cylindrical, clear, transparent, with sparse white hairs and 14 legs. The head is light brown with darker reddish brown sutures and two black eyespots. When full grown, it leaves the mine, turns vivid wine red, and spins a dense, oval, yellowish grey cocoon in a slight fold on the leaf. The pupa is white at first. When mature the pupa assumes the coloration of the imago.