Acrocercops panacivagans
Encyclopedia
Acrocercops panacivagans is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from New Zealand
.
The wingspan
is about 8 mm.
The larva
e feed on Pseudopanax crassifolius
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine is a simple gallery, more or less straight in its direction. It is made entirely in the upper surface of the leaf. The mine starts in a more or less oblique direction till it reaches the midrib or margin of the leaf. It follows the margin till it reaches the end of the leaf, and it then either turns back alongside its former track or continues back along the barrier on the other half of the leaf. It never crosses the midrib except in its upper part. On the margin of the leaf the mine closely follows all the irregularities of the outline, and extends into the bases of the serrations of the leaf. Portions of the earlier mine may be enveloped by the later broader gallery. The colour of the mine is light green in fresh mines. Margins of the mine are fairly regular and white. The frass
is almost fluid in nature, and occupies a fairly broad brown band in the centre of the early gallery, but in the wider part is dark green or black, and often forms an unbroken line on one side of the gallery. It is sometimes deposited in short curved transverse lines with the concavity directed forwards. It appears to be deposited chiefly on the upper cuticle of the leaf.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Gracillariidae
Gracillariidae
Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, Cameraria ohridella....
family. It is known from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is about 8 mm.
The larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e feed on Pseudopanax crassifolius
Pseudopanax crassifolius
Pseudopanax crassifolius, horoeka, or lancewood, is a New Zealand native tree belonging to the family Araliaceae. It is found throughout New Zealand from sea level up to about 750 m. The juvenile form, which lasts for between 15 and 20 years, is very easily recognized...
. They mine
Leaf miner
Leaf miner is a term used to describe the larvae of many different species of insect which live in and eat the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths , sawflies and flies , though some beetles and wasps also exhibit this behavior.Like Woodboring beetles, leaf...
the leaves of their host plant. The mine is a simple gallery, more or less straight in its direction. It is made entirely in the upper surface of the leaf. The mine starts in a more or less oblique direction till it reaches the midrib or margin of the leaf. It follows the margin till it reaches the end of the leaf, and it then either turns back alongside its former track or continues back along the barrier on the other half of the leaf. It never crosses the midrib except in its upper part. On the margin of the leaf the mine closely follows all the irregularities of the outline, and extends into the bases of the serrations of the leaf. Portions of the earlier mine may be enveloped by the later broader gallery. The colour of the mine is light green in fresh mines. Margins of the mine are fairly regular and white. The frass
Frass
Frass is the fine powdery material phytophagous insects pass as waste after digesting plant parts. It causes plants to excrete chitinase due to high chitin levels, it is a natural bloom stimulant, and has high nutrient levels. Frass is known to have abundant amoeba, beneficial bacteria, and fungi...
is almost fluid in nature, and occupies a fairly broad brown band in the centre of the early gallery, but in the wider part is dark green or black, and often forms an unbroken line on one side of the gallery. It is sometimes deposited in short curved transverse lines with the concavity directed forwards. It appears to be deposited chiefly on the upper cuticle of the leaf.