Phyllocnistis longipalpa
Encyclopedia
Phyllocnistis longipalpa is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known only from the Everglades National Park
, Dade County, and along the Loop Road near Tamarind Hammock, Monroe County, Florida
.
The length of the forewings is 2.3-2.6 mm. Adults have been recorded in April in southern Florida.
The larvae feed on Persea borbonia
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a long, slender, serpentine gallery, containing a dark, narrow, median frass
trail, present on the underside of the leaf, with pupation occurring in a slightly enlarged, elliptical chamber at the mine terminus along the leaf edge.
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 only from the Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida that protects the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades. It is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and is visited on average by one million people each year. It is the third-largest...
, Dade County, and along the Loop Road near Tamarind Hammock, Monroe County, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
The length of the forewings is 2.3-2.6 mm. Adults have been recorded in April in southern Florida.
The larvae feed on Persea borbonia
Persea borbonia
Persea borbonia has a variety of common names, among them are redbay, scrubbay, shorebay and swampbay. It is related to Persea americana or the avocado tree. It is an evergreen tree that is native to North America, north of Mexico.-Description:...
. 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 long, slender, serpentine gallery, containing a dark, narrow, median frass
Frass
Frass is the fine powdery material phytophagous insects pass as waste after digesting plant parts. It causes plants to excrete chitinase due to high chitin levels, it is a natural bloom stimulant, and has high nutrient levels. Frass is known to have abundant amoeba, beneficial bacteria, and fungi...
trail, present on the underside of the leaf, with pupation occurring in a slightly enlarged, elliptical chamber at the mine terminus along the leaf edge.