Stigmella rubeta
Encyclopedia
Stigmella rubeta is a moth
of the Nepticulidae
family. It is found in tropical montane forest of the western slopes of the Andes in Ecuador
.
The wingspan
is about 4.5 mm. Adults have been found from February to early March.
The larvae feed on Rubus
species. The mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine is usually located between two leaf veins. It starts as a long and very narrow gallery with blackish or black frass
, deposited in a broken, slender central line. Later the gallery widens sometimes becoming very contorted and resembling a blotch. Here, the frass is blackish or brown and deposited in a broad irregular central line.
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 Nepticulidae
Nepticulidae
Nepticulidae is a family of very small moths with a worldwide distribution. They are characterised by eyecaps over the eyes . These pigmy moths or midget moths, as they are commonly known, include the smallest of all living moths, with a wingspan that can be as little as 3 mm...
family. It is found in tropical montane forest of the western slopes of the Andes in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
.
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 4.5 mm. Adults have been found from February to early March.
The larvae feed on Rubus
Rubus
Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...
species. The 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 is usually located between two leaf veins. It starts as a long and very narrow gallery with blackish or black 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...
, deposited in a broken, slender central line. Later the gallery widens sometimes becoming very contorted and resembling a blotch. Here, the frass is blackish or brown and deposited in a broad irregular central line.