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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Ribbed Cocoon-maker and Leaf Blotch Miner Moths (Gracillarioidea) » Leaf Blotch Miner Moths (Gracillariidae) » Phyllocnistinae » Phyllocnistis

Genus Phyllocnistis

Magnolia Serpentine Leafminer, 0851 - Phyllocnistis Phyllocnistis vitegenella, 0853? - Phyllocnistis Durham NC Erechtites hieracifolia leaf miner Phyllocnistis insignis maybe 2015 5 - Phyllocnistis insignis St. Andrews leaf miner on Eupbotrys racemosa SA481 Phyllocnistis 2016 1 - Phyllocnistis on-eubotrys-racemosa Parthenocissus mine - Phyllocnistis ampelopsiella Moths from Balsam Poplar linear leaf mine - Phyllocnistis populiella Blythe Island Regional Park GA leaf miner on Lyonia ferruginea maybe D1235 2018 0 - Phyllocnistis Phyllocnistis vitifoliella? - Phyllocnistis vitifoliella
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Gracillarioidea (Ribbed Cocoon-maker and Leaf Blotch Miner Moths)
Family Gracillariidae (Leaf Blotch Miner Moths)
Subfamily Phyllocnistinae
Genus Phyllocnistis
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Phyllocnistis Zeller, 1848
Explanation of Names
Generic epithet Phyllocnistis is Greek meaning "leaf scraper." (1)
Numbers
12 species in North America.
Identification
Adult - very tiny; forewing white or pale with dark markings along distal half of costa and near apex; hindwing lance-like with wide fringe of hair-like scales.
Range
Throughout much of United States and southern Canada. Also represented in several other areas of the world.
Food
Larvae mine the leaves of various trees and shrubs.
Remarks
P. citrella is considered a pest of Citrus trees in several areas of the world.
See Also
Some of the white Phyllonorycter species are similar but have a prominent bushy tuft of scales on the head, whereas the head vestiture of Phyllocnistis is slicked down and shiny (see comment by Terry Harrison here).
Internet References
live images of all life stages of P. citrella, plus description, foodplants, distribution, control (Don Herbison-Evans and Stella Crossley, U. of Technology, Australia)
live adult and leaf mine images of P. populiella (Jeremy Tatum, Butterflies and Moths of Southern Vancouver Island)
Wikipedia
Zookeys. Biology and systematics of the New World Phyllocnistis Zeller leafminers of the avocado genus Persea (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae)
Works Cited
1.An accentuated list of the British Lepidoptera, with hints on the derivation of the names.
Anonymous. 1858. The Entomological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge.
Contributed by tom murray on 7 January, 2007 - 8:50pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, ceiseman, Randy Hardy
Last updated 2 November, 2015 - 3:31pm

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