Species Paraclemensia acerifoliella - Maple Leafcutter Moth - Hodges#0181

0181

the only species in this genus in North America

adult body less than 10 mm

Full-grown larvlae are 6mm long(1)

Pupa are 5-6mm(1)

Adult: forewing metallic blue with black area at wingtip; head orange or yellowish

Larva: thorax brownish; head black; abdomen mostly clear or translucent whitish, allowing blackish innards to be seen through the surface

First instar larvae are flattened, about 1.5mm long and taper from the front to the rear.(1)

Full-grown larvae are slender, flattened, and usually dull white with amber brown heads and a broad longitudinal stripe.(1)

southeastern Canada and northeastern US, south to the tip of the Appalachians (western North Carolina and perhaps northwestern Georgia)

woodlands, parks etc. where the host plant (maple) grows

adults fly from April to June

larvae found June through September

larvae feed on the leaves of maple and sometimes birch (older larvae cut two circular portions of leaf and sew them together as a portable case)

one generation per year; overwinters as a pupa on the ground inside the case made previously as a larva from two portions of maple leaf; adults emerge in spring and eggs are laid on maple leaves

Eggs are deposited singly in pockets on the undersides of leaves. When they hatch, the larvae bore into the leaf and feed as miners for 10-14 days. Then each larva cutes a round disc out of the leaf and makes an oval movable case in which it resides as a casebearer. As it grows, it cuts out larger oval pieces and attaches them to its case. To feed, it attaches the case to a leaf and reaches out from it in a circle as far as it can. The uneaten center of this circle often drops out, leaving a 1/2" diameter hole in the leaf. When full grown, the larva drops to the ground to pupate.(1)

Overwinters as pupa(1)

One generation per year.(1)

description of larval activity (Bryan Pfeiffer)

description of moth, photos of damage (Wikipedia)

Moth Photographers Group

description, life cycle, management (Forest Pests)