Gracillaria albicapitata
Encyclopedia
Gracillaria albicapitata is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from Japan
(Hokkaidō, Honshū) and the Russian Far East
.
The wingspan
is 9.8-12.5 mm.
The larva
e feed on Fraxinus lanuginosa
, Fraxinus mandshurica, Syringa amurensis, Syringa reticulata
and Syringa vulgaris. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. Young larvae mine directly into the middle layer of the parenchymal tissue of the leaf or leaflet. The mine made by the larvae of the first three instars is irregularly large blotchy or wide linear, and inter-parenchymal, with a few weak wrinkles on both the upper and lower surfaces. In the fourth instar, the larvae leave the mine for another leaf or leaflet, and roll it from the tip towards the underside. The
leaf roll made by the larvae of the last two instars is very large and cigarette-like in form. The cocoon is usually found at the margin of fallen leaves in the field. It is buff whitish and boat-shaped. The species hibernates in the pupal stage.
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 Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(Hokkaidō, Honshū) and the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
.
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 9.8-12.5 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 Fraxinus lanuginosa
Fraxinus lanuginosa
Fraxinus lanuginosa is a species of ash native to Japan.It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 10–15 m tall with a trunk up to 50 cm diameter. The bark is smooth, dark grey. The buds are pale pinkish-brown to grey-brown, with a dense covering of short grey hairs...
, Fraxinus mandshurica, Syringa amurensis, Syringa reticulata
Syringa reticulata
Syringa reticulata is a species of Lilac, native to eastern Asia, in northern Japan , northern China, Korea, and far southeastern Russia....
and Syringa vulgaris. 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. Young larvae mine directly into the middle layer of the parenchymal tissue of the leaf or leaflet. The mine made by the larvae of the first three instars is irregularly large blotchy or wide linear, and inter-parenchymal, with a few weak wrinkles on both the upper and lower surfaces. In the fourth instar, the larvae leave the mine for another leaf or leaflet, and roll it from the tip towards the underside. The
leaf roll made by the larvae of the last two instars is very large and cigarette-like in form. The cocoon is usually found at the margin of fallen leaves in the field. It is buff whitish and boat-shaped. The species hibernates in the pupal stage.