Acrolepiopsis incertella 1 mile west of Charleston, Coles County, Illinois, USA May 29, 2009 Size: Adult length ca. 6.6mm
This image represents three life stages of Yponomeutoidea: Acrolepiidae: Acrolepiopsis incertella. The larval host plant is Smilax tamnoides. The top panel shows a new terminal leaf that has been rolled and tied together at the edges by a larva, which lives and feeds inside the rolled leaf (collected for rearing on 7 May, 2009, 1 mile west of Charleston, Coles County, Illinois; photographed on same date). After the larva finishes feeding, it leaves its rolled-leaf shelter and spins a meshwork silken cocoon, inside which it pupates. The center panel shows the cocoon, which contains a pupa in an advanced state of development (photo taken 27 May, 2009). In the bottom panel, the recently-emerged adult moth displays the distinctive profile that is seen in most Acrolepiopsis species, and which features a characteristic "notch" in the apical margin of the forewing (photographed 29 May, 2009).
Contributed by Terry Harrison on 29 May, 2009 - 2:43pm Last updated 24 February, 2013 - 5:30pm |