Stigmella tiliella
Encyclopedia
Stigmella tiliella is a moth
of the Nepticulidae
family. It is found in Ohio
and Kentucky
.
The wingspan
is 3.4–4 mm. There are two generations per year. Adults are on wing in
mid-June and early August or late July. Late instar larvae have been found in late August and in early July.
The larvae feed on Tilia americana
. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine is located on the upper-surface of the leaf and is long and linear with a tendency toward a spiral form. There are frequent angular turns. The frass
is deposited irregularly across the entire width of the mine in the first four-fifths but as a dense, central line in terminal portion.
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 Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
.
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 3.4–4 mm. There are two generations per year. Adults are on wing in
mid-June and early August or late July. Late instar larvae have been found in late August and in early July.
The larvae feed on Tilia americana
Tilia americana
Tilia americana is a species of Tilia native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Texas, and southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to Cherry County, Nebraska...
. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine is located on the upper-surface of the leaf and is long and linear with a tendency toward a spiral form. There are frequent angular turns. 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 deposited irregularly across the entire width of the mine in the first four-fifths but as a dense, central line in terminal portion.