Micrurapteryx salicifoliella
Encyclopedia
Micrurapteryx salicifoliella is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from Canada
(Québec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories) and the United States
(including Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Alaska, Vermont, Kentucky, Michigan, Texas, California).
The wingspan
is about 9 mm. Adults are on wing in mid to late July in Illinois, with a possibly a second generation emerging in October. In California, adults can be found from April to October and in Texas in November.
The larva
e feed on Populus species (including Populus balsamifera
, Populus tremuloides
and Populus grandidentata
) and Salix species (including Salix alba, Salix arbusculoides, Salix babylonica, Salix bebbiana
, Salix brachycarpa, Salix exigua
, Salix glauca, Salix integra
, Salix interior, Salix lasiandra, Salix longifolia, Salix monticola, Salix novae-angliae, Salix planifolia
and Salix scouleriana
). They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine is found on the upperside of the leaf, sometimes covering the entire leaf area. It is a flat upperside blotch, initially greenish but later turning brown. The larva chews a hole through the bottom of the mine and exits through it to pupate. The cocoon is often spun on the upperside of a leaf, parallel to its long axis.
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 Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(Québec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories) and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(including Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Alaska, Vermont, Kentucky, Michigan, Texas, California).
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 about 9 mm. Adults are on wing in mid to late July in Illinois, with a possibly a second generation emerging in October. In California, adults can be found from April to October and in Texas in November.
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 Populus species (including Populus balsamifera
Populus balsamifera
Populus balsamifera, commonly called balsam poplar, bamtree, eastern balsam poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca,...
, Populus tremuloides
Populus tremuloides
Populus tremuloides is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, and Quakies,. The trees have tall trunks, up to 25 metres, with smooth pale bark, scarred with black. The glossy green leaves, dull beneath, become golden...
and Populus grandidentata
Populus grandidentata
Populus grandidentata — the large-tooth, or big-tooth, aspen — is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America.-Name:...
) and Salix species (including Salix alba, Salix arbusculoides, Salix babylonica, Salix bebbiana
Salix bebbiana
Salix bebbiana is a species of Willow that is indigenous to Canada and the northern United States, from Alaska and Yukon south to California and Arizona and north-east to Newfoundland and New England...
, Salix brachycarpa, Salix exigua
Salix exigua
Salix exigua Salix exigua Salix exigua (Sandbar Willow, Narrowleaf Willow, or Coyote Willow; syn. S. argophylla, S. hindsiana, S. interior, S. linearifolia, S. luteosericea, S. malacophylla, S. nevadensis, S...
, Salix glauca, Salix integra
Salix integra
Salix integra is a species of willow native to northeastern China, Japan, Korea and Primorsky Krai in the far southeast of Russia....
, Salix interior, Salix lasiandra, Salix longifolia, Salix monticola, Salix novae-angliae, Salix planifolia
Salix planifolia
Salix planifolia is a species of willow known by the common names diamondleaf willow and tea-leafed willow. It is native to northern and western North America, including most all of Canada, Alaska, and the western United States...
and Salix scouleriana
Salix scouleriana
Salix scouleriana Salix scouleriana Salix scouleriana (Scouler's Willow; syn. S. brachystachys Benth., S. capreoides Anderss., S. flavescens Nutt., S. nuttallii Sarg., S...
). 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 is found on the upperside of the leaf, sometimes covering the entire leaf area. It is a flat upperside blotch, initially greenish but later turning brown. The larva chews a hole through the bottom of the mine and exits through it to pupate. The cocoon is often spun on the upperside of a leaf, parallel to its long axis.