Cremastobombycia grindeliella is a moth

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...

 (California).

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 Anaphalis margaritacea

Anaphalis margaritacea

Anapahlis margaritacea, commonly known as the Western Pearly Everlasting, is a perennial herb in the composite family. Since it is the only North American species it is often simply called Pearly Everlasting in the United States and Canada. However, it is also native in Asia and has been widely...

, Gnaphalium

Gnaphalium

Gnaphalium is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It contains about 120 species, which are commonly called cudweeds...

species, Grindelia camporum

Grindelia camporum

Grindelia camporum is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names Great Valley gumplant and Great Valley gumweed. It is native to California and Baja California, where it can be found in a number of habitats. Its range may extend into Nevada. This hardy plant readily...

, Grindelia robusta and Pseudognaphalium stramineum. 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 mines occur upon either the upper or lower surface of the leaves. In the upperside mines, the leaf is more contracted and the epidermis is thrown into more distinct folds than is the case in the lower side mines. The elongate white silken cocoon is attached at its posterior end by two fine threads, and at its anterior end by a rather broad band of silk.