Chrysaster ostensackenella
Encyclopedia
Chrysaster ostensackenella is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from Canada
(Québec and Nova Scotia) and the United States
(Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Vermont, Arizona, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Connecticut).
The wingspan
is about 5 mm. Adults are brilliantly shiny with an orange forewing marked with transverse silvery-white bands that are narrowly edged with black along their basal margins.
The larva
e feed on Robinia
species, including Robinia hispida, Robinia neomexicana, Robinia pseudacacia and Robinia viscosa. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a yellowish blotch mine. The mine usually occurs on the upperside, but occasionally on the underside, of the leaflet. It is nearly circular in its early stages, but later in development, it becomes irregular in shape.
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 Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(Québec and Nova Scotia) and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Vermont, Arizona, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Connecticut).
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 5 mm. Adults are brilliantly shiny with an orange forewing marked with transverse silvery-white bands that are narrowly edged with black along their basal margins.
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 Robinia
Robinia
Robinia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, native to North America and northern Mexico. Commonly known as "locusts", they are deciduous trees and shrubs growing 4-25 m tall. The leaves are pinnate with 7-21 oval leaflets. The flowers are white or pink, in...
species, including Robinia hispida, Robinia neomexicana, Robinia pseudacacia and Robinia viscosa. 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 has the form of a yellowish blotch mine. The mine usually occurs on the upperside, but occasionally on the underside, of the leaflet. It is nearly circular in its early stages, but later in development, it becomes irregular in shape.