Macrosaccus uhlerella
Encyclopedia
Macrosaccus uhlerella is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from the United States
(including Illinois, Missouri, New York, Colorado and Texas).
The wingspan
is 6-6.5 mm.
The larva
e feed on Amorpha
species (including Amorpha fruticosa
) and Robinia
species. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mature mine is an elongate-oval, whitish blotch located on the underside of the leaf usually near the edge of the leaflet. Eventually, as the mine becomes tentiform, the leaf edge is slightly curled.
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...
(including Illinois, Missouri, New York, Colorado and Texas).
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 6-6.5 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 Amorpha
Amorpha
Amorpha is a genus of plants in the pea family Fabaceae. All the species are native to North America, from southern Canada, most of the United States, and northern Mexico. They are commonly known as false indigo...
species (including Amorpha fruticosa
Amorpha fruticosa
Amorpha fruticosa is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by several common names, including desert false indigo and bastard indigobush. It is found throughout eastern Canada, northern Mexico, and most of the continental United States, but it is probably naturalized in western...
) and Robinia
Robinia
Robinia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, native to North America and northern Mexico. Commonly known as "locusts", they are deciduous trees and shrubs growing 4-25 m tall. The leaves are pinnate with 7-21 oval leaflets. The flowers are white or pink, in...
species. 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 mature mine is an elongate-oval, whitish blotch located on the underside of the leaf usually near the edge of the leaflet. Eventually, as the mine becomes tentiform, the leaf edge is slightly curled.