Leucoptera lathyrifoliella
Encyclopedia
Leucoptera lathyrifoliella is a moth
in the Lyonetiidae
family. It is found in Finland
, Germany
and England
.
The larvae feed on Lathyrus linifolius
, Lathyrus pratensis and Lathyrus sylvestris
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a flat, upper-surface, oval blotch without a preceding gallery, with clear greenish frass
. There may be more than one mine in a single leaflet sometimes merging. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.
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...
in the Lyonetiidae
Lyonetiidae
Lyonetiidae is a family of moths. These are small, slender moths, the wingspan rarely exceeding 1 cm. The very narrow forewings, held folded backwards covering the hindwings and abdomen, often have pointed apices noticeably up- or down-turned. The larvae are leaf miners.The families Bucculatricidae...
family. It is found in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The larvae feed on Lathyrus linifolius
Lathyrus linifolius
Lathyrus linifolius is a species of pea, commonly called Bitter Vetch or Heath Pea. It was formerly used as an appetite suppressant in medieval Scotland, and this use has brought it to recent medical attention...
, Lathyrus pratensis and Lathyrus sylvestris
Lathyrus sylvestris
Lathyrus sylvestris or Narrow-leaved Everlasting-pea is a plant species of the genus Lathyrus....
. 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 flat, upper-surface, oval blotch without a preceding gallery, with clear greenish frass
Frass
Frass is the fine powdery material phytophagous insects pass as waste after digesting plant parts. It causes plants to excrete chitinase due to high chitin levels, it is a natural bloom stimulant, and has high nutrient levels. Frass is known to have abundant amoeba, beneficial bacteria, and fungi...
. There may be more than one mine in a single leaflet sometimes merging. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.