Caloptilia onustella
Encyclopedia
Caloptilia onustella is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from most of Europe
, east to the European part of Russia
, Ukraine
, Tajikistan
and Turkmenistan
, as well as Morocco
and Turkey
.
The larva
e feed on Acer species, including Acer campestre, Acer monspessulanum
, Acer platanoides and Acer pseudoplatanus. They mine
the leaves of their host plant.
is often considered to be a form (and thus synonym) of Caloptilia onustella.
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 most of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, east to the European part of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
and Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
, as well as Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
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 Acer species, including Acer campestre, Acer monspessulanum
Acer monspessulanum
Montpellier Maple is a species of maple native to the Mediterranean region from Morocco and Portugal in the west, to Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine in the east, and north to the Jura Mountains in France and the Eifel in Germany.-Description:...
, Acer platanoides and Acer pseudoplatanus. 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.
Taxonomy
Caloptilia semifasciaCaloptilia semifascia
Caloptilia semifascia is a moth of the Gracillariidae family. It is known from most of Europe, except the Iberian Peninsula, Ireland, Iceland and the western part of the Balkan Peninsula....
is often considered to be a form (and thus synonym) of Caloptilia onustella.