Perittia lonicerae
Encyclopedia
The Honeysuckle Leaf Miner (Perittia lonicerae) is a moth
of the Elachistidae
family. It was first discovered in Hawaii
in 1949. It was later found in Japan
in 1982,
although it was described as new. Several other species are known from the eastern Palearctic Region, so it is likely that P. lonicerae originated there instead of Hawaii where it was first found.
The larvae feed on Lonicera japonica. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. There is usually only one mine per leaf, but occasionally two mines will be found in a
single leaf. The mine starts near the margin of the upper surface of the leaf. The slender mine follows the leaf margin for some distance, enlarges gradually, forms an extensive blotch by expanding towards the middle of the leaf, and often doubles back along the slender part of the mine. The full-grown larva has a reddish tint, the head is dark and the pronotum has two wide, dark vittae.
The pupa is about 4 mm long. The pupal period takes three weeks. The larva separates the epidermis from the other leaf tissues to form a kind of pocket in which pupation takes place.
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 Elachistidae
Elachistidae
| image = Elachista rufocinerea 2.jpg| image_width = 240px| image_caption = Adult Elachista rufocinerea,demonstrating its tiny size versus an aphid and a spider mite | regnum = Animalia| phylum = Arthropoda| classis = Insecta...
family. It was first discovered in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
in 1949. It was later found in 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...
in 1982,
although it was described as new. Several other species are known from the eastern Palearctic Region, so it is likely that P. lonicerae originated there instead of Hawaii where it was first found.
The larvae feed on Lonicera japonica. 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. There is usually only one mine per leaf, but occasionally two mines will be found in a
single leaf. The mine starts near the margin of the upper surface of the leaf. The slender mine follows the leaf margin for some distance, enlarges gradually, forms an extensive blotch by expanding towards the middle of the leaf, and often doubles back along the slender part of the mine. The full-grown larva has a reddish tint, the head is dark and the pronotum has two wide, dark vittae.
The pupa is about 4 mm long. The pupal period takes three weeks. The larva separates the epidermis from the other leaf tissues to form a kind of pocket in which pupation takes place.