Ectoedemia albibimaculella
Encyclopedia
Ectoedemia albibimaculella is a moth
of the Nepticulidae
family. It is found from Fennoscandia
to Italy
.
The wingspan
is 5–6 mm.
The larvae feed on Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a slender gallery that eventually enters a petiole, from where it enters a bud. The larva hibernates in the bud, that is eaten out in spring. Then the larva bores in a young shoot, sometimes diverting into a leaf that then is completely mined out. Pupation takes place in a dark yellow cocoon inside the mine.
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 Nepticulidae
Nepticulidae
Nepticulidae is a family of very small moths with a worldwide distribution. They are characterised by eyecaps over the eyes . These pigmy moths or midget moths, as they are commonly known, include the smallest of all living moths, with a wingspan that can be as little as 3 mm...
family. It is found from Fennoscandia
Fennoscandia
Fennoscandia and Fenno-Scandinavia are geographic and geological terms used to describe the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula, Karelia and Finland...
to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
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 5–6 mm.
The larvae feed on Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, with names for this species including Kinnikinnick and Pinemat manzanita, one of several related species referred to as Bearberry...
. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a slender gallery that eventually enters a petiole, from where it enters a bud. The larva hibernates in the bud, that is eaten out in spring. Then the larva bores in a young shoot, sometimes diverting into a leaf that then is completely mined out. Pupation takes place in a dark yellow cocoon inside the mine.