Leucoptera celastrella
Encyclopedia
Leucoptera celastrella is a moth
in the Lyonetiidae
family. It is known from Japan
(Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu).
The wingspan
is 6.5-8.5 mm. Adults are on wing from the middle of May to the beginning of June. There are two generations per year.
The larvae feed on Tripterygium regelii
, Celastrus orbiculatus and Euonymus alatus
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a blotch mine or sometimes a upper surface digitate-blotch. It is pale green or pale brownish-green. One to several larvae may occupy a single mine. The frass
consists of pale brown to blackish grains gathered in the central area. Pupation takes place outside of the mine in a white spindle-shaped cocoon with a H-shaped silken roof. The cocoon is mostly made on the surface of a dead leaf
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 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...
(Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu).
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 6.5-8.5 mm. Adults are on wing from the middle of May to the beginning of June. There are two generations per year.
The larvae feed on Tripterygium regelii
Tripterygium regelii
Tripterygium regelii, or Regel's Threewingnut , is a rambling, shrubby perennial deciduous yellow vine native to Korea, Japan and Manchuria. It grows to about 200 cm. Small very pretty yellowish white or white flowers appear in May-June and are produced on 203 to 229 mm. long panicles, and smell...
, Celastrus orbiculatus and Euonymus alatus
Euonymus alatus
Euonymus alatus, known variously as Winged Spindle, Winged Euonymus or Burning Bush, is a deciduous shrub native to eastern Asia, in central and northern China, Japan, and Korea. The shrub grows to 2.5 m tall , often wider than tall...
. 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 blotch mine or sometimes a upper surface digitate-blotch. It is pale green or pale brownish-green. One to several larvae may occupy a single mine. The frass
Frass
Frass is the fine powdery material phytophagous insects pass as waste after digesting plant parts. It causes plants to excrete chitinase due to high chitin levels, it is a natural bloom stimulant, and has high nutrient levels. Frass is known to have abundant amoeba, beneficial bacteria, and fungi...
consists of pale brown to blackish grains gathered in the central area. Pupation takes place outside of the mine in a white spindle-shaped cocoon with a H-shaped silken roof. The cocoon is mostly made on the surface of a dead leaf