Caloptilia minimella
Encyclopedia
Caloptilia minimella is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from the United States
(Connecticut, Illinois and Maine).
The larva
e feed on Gymnanthes lucida
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant.
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 the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(Connecticut, Illinois and Maine).
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 Gymnanthes lucida
Gymnanthes lucida
Gymnanthes lucida, commonly known as Shiny Oysterwood, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to southern Florida in the United States, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. It is a tree, reaching a height of ....
. 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.