Marmara salictella is a moth

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 Québec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and the Atlantic States

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

.

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 Salix species, including Salix lasiolepis

Salix lasiolepis

Salix lasiolepis is a species of willow native to western and southwestern North America, in the United States from central and southern Washington and southwestern Idaho south to California and Texas, and in Mexico from the Baja California peninsula east to Coahuila and south to Jalisco. The name...

and Salix lutea

Salix lutea

Salix lutea is a species of willow known by the common name yellow willow. It is native to North America, including central Canada and parts of the western and central United States, with the exception of the Great Basin. It can be found in moist and wet habitat types, such as riverbanks, meadows,...

. They create an extremely long and narrow mine in young twigs. The mine is only a tract beneath the young and delicate cuticle of the branches.

Taxonomy

A Marmara

Marmara (moth)

Marmara is a genus of moths in the family Gracillariidae.-Species:*Marmara affirmata *Marmara apocynella Braun, 1915*Marmara arbutiella Busck, 1904*Marmara auratella Braun, 1915...

species feeding on Citrus

Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...

species was originally identified as Marmara salictella. Later research concluded this species is distinct. It is now known as Marmara gulosa

Marmara gulosa

The Citrus Peelminer is a moth of the Gracillariidae family. It is known from California, Arizona, Texas, Florida and Cuba....

.