Phyllonorycter myricae
Encyclopedia
Phyllonorycter myricae is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is native to Madeira
and the Canary Islands
. In 2000, it was studied in Hawaii
as a potential biological control agent for Morella faya.
The larvae feed on Myrica faya
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a lower-surface tentiform corridor that occupies about half of the leaf; always positioned against the midrib, but usually not reaching the leaf margin. There is one strong fold. The frass
is clumped in a corner 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...
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 native to Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
and the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
. In 2000, it was studied in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
as a potential biological control agent for Morella faya.
The larvae feed on Myrica faya
Myrica faya
Myrica faya is a species of Myrica, native to Macaronesia , and possibly also southern Portugal....
. 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 consists of a lower-surface tentiform corridor that occupies about half of the leaf; always positioned against the midrib, but usually not reaching the leaf margin. There is one strong fold. The 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...
is clumped in a corner of the mine.