Marmara guilandinella
Encyclopedia
Marmara guilandinella is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from the United States
(Florida).
The wingspan
is about 4.8 mm.
The larva
e feed on Caesalpinia bonduc
. They mine the twigs of their host plant. The mine has the form of a very long, narrow, irregular serpentine, going upward or downward very near the surface just under the epidermis in the twig. The larva is very flat, much incised
between the segments, tapering backward. At maturity it assumes a wine-red coloration of transverse bands. The cocoon is white and spun outside 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...
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 about 4.8 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 Caesalpinia bonduc
Caesalpinia bonduc
Caesalpinia bonduc, commonly known as Gray Nicker, is a species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that has a pantropical distribution. It is a vine-like shrub that reaches a length of and scrambles over other vegetation. Stems are covered in curved spines...
. They mine the twigs of their host plant. The mine has the form of a very long, narrow, irregular serpentine, going upward or downward very near the surface just under the epidermis in the twig. The larva is very flat, much incised
between the segments, tapering backward. At maturity it assumes a wine-red coloration of transverse bands. The cocoon is white and spun outside the mine.