Melanocercops phractopa
Encyclopedia
Melanocercops phractopa is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from India
(Bihar) and Japan
(the Ryukyu Islands).
The wingspan
is 5.2-6.8 mm.
The larva
e feed on Ficus benghalensis
, Ficus indica, Ficus infectoria and Ficus microcarpa
. They probably mine
the leaves of their host plant.
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 India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(Bihar) and 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...
(the Ryukyu Islands).
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 5.2-6.8 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 Ficus benghalensis
Ficus benghalensis
Ficus benghalensis, the banyan, is a large and extensive growing tree of the Indian subcontinent. Ficus benghalensis produces propagating roots which grow downwards as aerial roots. Once these roots reach the ground, they grow into woody trunks that can become indistinguishable from the main...
, Ficus indica, Ficus infectoria and Ficus microcarpa
Ficus microcarpa
Ficus microcarpa, also known as Chinese Banyan, Malayan Banyan, Indian Laurel or Curtain fig, is a banyan native in the range from Sri Lanka to India, southern China, the Malay Archipelago, the Ryukyu Islands, Australia, and New Caledonia.-Taxonomy:Hill's Weeping Fig is a form of Ficus microcarpa...
. They probably 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.