Macrosaccus gliricidius
Encyclopedia
Macrosaccus gliricidius is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from Central America (Honduras
) and the West Indies (Guadeloupe
).
The length of the forewings is 2.2–2.6 mm.
The larva
e feed on Gliricidia sepium
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine begins as an elongate serpentine track which abruptly enlarges to an elongate-oval, whitish blotch located on either the upper or lower side of the leaflet. When present on the under side, the blotch mines usually develop along the midrib. Only the upper side blotch mines occurred directly on top of the midrib.
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 Central America (Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
) and the West Indies (Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
).
The length of the forewings is 2.2–2.6 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 Gliricidia sepium
Gliricidia sepium
Gliricidia sepium, often simply referred to as Gliricidia , is a medium size leguminous tree belonging to the family Fabaceae...
. 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 begins as an elongate serpentine track which abruptly enlarges to an elongate-oval, whitish blotch located on either the upper or lower side of the leaflet. When present on the under side, the blotch mines usually develop along the midrib. Only the upper side blotch mines occurred directly on top of the midrib.