Artifodina strigulata
Encyclopedia
Artifodina strigulata is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from India
(Meghalaya) and Nepal
.
The wingspan
is 8.2-11.5 mm.
The larva
e feed on Myrsine capitellata. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. In early stages, the mine is narrow, linear, interparenchymal, and runs across the leaf from one edge to another twice or thrice, thus the leaf apical to the crossed mines is always discoloured into pale green or yellowish-green. Then, the mine enters into the main leaf-vein towards the apex or runs along the main vein. Sometimes it irregularly runs on the space between the edge and the main vein. In late stages, the mine is broadened into a large, blotchy one of the full-depth type within the discoloured area of the leaf. This type of mine seems to be made by the larvae of tissue-feeding form. Finally, a semitransparent, blotchy mine is seen on the discoloured apical area of the leaf. When full grown, the larva becomes ochre-yellowish with a crimson-reddish, broad, transverse band on each segment, and leaves the mine to pupate through a semicircular slit on the upper surface of the leaf. The cocoon is boat-shaped, with a few bubbles on the surface.
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 India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(Meghalaya) and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
.
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 8.2-11.5 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 Myrsine capitellata. 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. In early stages, the mine is narrow, linear, interparenchymal, and runs across the leaf from one edge to another twice or thrice, thus the leaf apical to the crossed mines is always discoloured into pale green or yellowish-green. Then, the mine enters into the main leaf-vein towards the apex or runs along the main vein. Sometimes it irregularly runs on the space between the edge and the main vein. In late stages, the mine is broadened into a large, blotchy one of the full-depth type within the discoloured area of the leaf. This type of mine seems to be made by the larvae of tissue-feeding form. Finally, a semitransparent, blotchy mine is seen on the discoloured apical area of the leaf. When full grown, the larva becomes ochre-yellowish with a crimson-reddish, broad, transverse band on each segment, and leaves the mine to pupate through a semicircular slit on the upper surface of the leaf. The cocoon is boat-shaped, with a few bubbles on the surface.