Parectopa occulta
Encyclopedia
Parectopa occulta is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from the United States
(Illinois, Kentucky and California).
The larva
e feed on Vicia caroliniana and Melilotus species, including Melilotus officinalis
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of an irregular, somewhat digitate greenish mine, starting over the midrib, where the mine is whitish.
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...
(Illinois, Kentucky and California).
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 Vicia caroliniana and Melilotus species, including Melilotus officinalis
Melilotus officinalis
Melilotus officinalis, known as the yellow sweet clover, yellow melilot, ribbed melilot or common melilot is a species of legume native to Eurasia and introduced in North America, Africa and Australia.-Description:...
. 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 an irregular, somewhat digitate greenish mine, starting over the midrib, where the mine is whitish.