Leucoptera albella
Encyclopedia
The Cottonwood Leaf Miner (Leucoptera albella) is a moth
in the Lyonetiidae
family. It is known from North America
and is probably present throughout the commercial range of cottonwood.
The larvae feed on Populus deltoides. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a brown, somewhat puffy leaf mine. After the larva finishes feeding, it leaves the mine and seeks out a depressed notch, usually at the midvein of a leaf where it pupates in a white silken cocoon that is overlaid with two transverse bands of silk. Periodic heavy infestations may destroy half the total leaf surface and reduce growth of young cottonwood.
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...
in the Lyonetiidae
Lyonetiidae
Lyonetiidae is a family of moths. These are small, slender moths, the wingspan rarely exceeding 1 cm. The very narrow forewings, held folded backwards covering the hindwings and abdomen, often have pointed apices noticeably up- or down-turned. The larvae are leaf miners.The families Bucculatricidae...
family. It is known from North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and is probably present throughout the commercial range of cottonwood.
The larvae feed on Populus deltoides. 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 brown, somewhat puffy leaf mine. After the larva finishes feeding, it leaves the mine and seeks out a depressed notch, usually at the midvein of a leaf where it pupates in a white silken cocoon that is overlaid with two transverse bands of silk. Periodic heavy infestations may destroy half the total leaf surface and reduce growth of young cottonwood.