Numbers
the only species in this genus in North America
Size
adult body less than 10 mm
Full-grown larvlae are 6mm long
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Identification
Adult: forewing metallic blue with black area at wingtip; head orange or yellowish
Genitalia:
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.
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Full-grown larvae are slender, flattened, and usually dull white with amber brown heads and a broad longitudinal stripe.
(1)Range
southeastern Canada and northeastern US, south to the tip of the Appalachians (western North Carolina and perhaps northwestern Georgia)
Habitat
woodlands, parks etc. where the host plant (maple) grows
Season
adults fly from April to June
larvae found June through September
Food
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)
Life Cycle
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.
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One generation per year.
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