Uknown Larvae/Unknown Moth - Porphyrosela minuta

Moved

Moved from Porphyrosela.

… Charley Eiseman, 28 November, 2014 - 9:37am

Moved

Moved from Leaf Blotch Miner Moths.

… Charley Eiseman, 19 November, 2012 - 8:42am

Moved

Moved from Unidentified Leaf Mines.

… Charley Eiseman, 23 September, 2012 - 1:51am

unknown larvae

The adult moth seems to be Porphyrosela desmodiella.
The question is, why is the mine, or tent, that I photo'd different from what is described for this species here on BugGuide, that is, on the upper surface of the leaf not the underside?
Although I found several spent pupal cases attached to the vial in which the moths were raised, I did locate one within one of the curled up leaflets.
Interestingly, I found the following site with a photo of a tent which looks remarkably like the one that I photo'd but which belongs to Porphyrosela minuta (http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1519-566X2007000400005) from southern South America.
Anybody?

… Greg Dodge, 24 September, 2012 - 9:03am

Heads up:

I too crossed paths with mines like these. See my post here:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/726189/bgimage

… Thomas Wilson of Armistead Gardens in Baltimore City, 27 November, 2012 - 4:29am

Looks like a match

Sure looks the same to me.
I had planned on shipping off a specimen of an adult to Don Davis for identification but the only specimen that I had was a smashed individual that was later eaten by a roach (my fault completely, I left it sitting around too long in a vial with the lid partially open). I tried to rear more but was unsuccessful. Maybe next season.

… Greg Dodge, 27 November, 2012 - 9:46am

Don Davis

Would it be possible for you to send the adult moths to Don Davis (contact info here)? I emailed him about this, and he very much would like to see your adults, to compare them with P. desmodiella and with the type series of P. minuta. That is without question our best bet for obtaining a definitive ID for your moths. If you want to send them to him, they do not need to be pinned. Simply put each moth into the bottom of a vial (best to have only one moth per vial), then put a snugly-fitting piece of cotton almost to the bottom of the vial, so that the cotton just barely touches the moth, the idea being to minimize the degree to which the moth will be jostled around during shipping. That should do it.

Also, Don would like to know, from exactly which species of clover (i. e., scientific name) did you rear these moths? It would be very helpful if this could be determined.

Thanks very much for bringing this to everyone's attention!

… Terry Harrison, 26 September, 2012 - 11:12am

The host plant

is White Clover (Trifolium repens).
As far as the moths are concerned, they all flew off except one which was unfortunately, and unintentionally, spread across the inside of one of the vials.
I may try to rear more.

… Greg Dodge, 27 September, 2012 - 12:50pm

Remains

Good luck with rearing more of these moths. If you still have the remains of the one moth that was inadvertently killed, it might very well yield a perfectly good genitalia preparation, which is what Don needs for the ID. So if you still have it, please hold onto it until you determine whether or not you'll be able to rear more. One way or the other, I believe that Don would like to see it.

Thanks for the host plant identity.

… Terry Harrison, 27 September, 2012 - 3:10pm

i agree

these are awesome pictures..thanks so much!

… Edna Woodward, 19 September, 2012 - 8:24pm

Leaf Blotch Miner Moth…

Resembles Porphyrosela desmodiella. It does appear that Desmodium is the plant genus, which encourages the species ID.

See reference here.

… Ross Hill, 19 September, 2012 - 12:58pm

Great series of photos.

… Ilona L., 19 September, 2012 - 12:53pm