Lyonetia anthemopa
Encyclopedia
Lyonetia anthemopa is a moth
in the Lyonetiidae
family. It is known from Japan
(Honshu, Kyushu, Yakushima) and Taiwan
.
The wingspan
is 5-8 mm. There are four generations per year in Japan.
The larvae feed on Pyracantha angustifolia
, Pyracantha crenurata, Rhapiolepis umbellata and Photinia taiwanensis. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a linear-blotch mine. Young larvae mine in a linear and full-depth mine, reaching the leaf margin and extending towards the tip of the leaf along the margin. The linear mine is brown or pale brown. Later, the mine extends into a blotch and turns pale greenish-brown. If the leaf is not big enough to complete the larval growth, the larva migrates to another leaf through the lower surface.
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...
(Honshu, Kyushu, Yakushima) and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
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 5-8 mm. There are four generations per year in Japan.
The larvae feed on Pyracantha angustifolia
Pyracantha angustifolia
Pyracantha angustifolia is a species of shrub in the rose family known by the common name narrowleaf firethorn. The flowers are white and produce small round pomes and can be orange to red in color. These fruits are astringent and bitter, making them inedible for humans, but they are a food source...
, Pyracantha crenurata, Rhapiolepis umbellata and Photinia taiwanensis. 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 linear-blotch mine. Young larvae mine in a linear and full-depth mine, reaching the leaf margin and extending towards the tip of the leaf along the margin. The linear mine is brown or pale brown. Later, the mine extends into a blotch and turns pale greenish-brown. If the leaf is not big enough to complete the larval growth, the larva migrates to another leaf through the lower surface.