Phyllocnistis xenia
Encyclopedia
Phyllocnistis xenia is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is found from Great Britain
to Bulgaria
and from Poland
to the Iberian Peninsula
and Italy
.
The wingspan
is 6–7 mm. Adults are on wing from July to August and again from September to May in two generations.
The larva
e feed on Populus alba, Populus canescens and Populus tremula
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a long, rather broad, strictly epidermal corridor that curves in dense loops over the leaf upper-side, without ever crossing itself. The frass
is deposited in a vague continuous central line. The gallery ends upon the leaf margin, where it widens a little, while the leaf margin folds over somewhat. Here pupation takes place. There is no cocoon.
. The adult moth and pupa of xenia can hardly be distinguished from the one of labyrinthella. Many authors therefore consider the two conspecific. There seems to exist a constant difference in the frass line of xenia (which is broad, vague and greenish) and that of labyrinthella (which is narrow, sharp and brownish black). Furthermore, the mine of labyrinthella often extends to the underside of the leaf, something that does not seem to happen in xenia.
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 found from Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
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 6–7 mm. Adults are on wing from July to August and again from September to May in two generations.
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 alba, Populus canescens and Populus tremula
Populus tremula
Populus tremula, commonly called aspen, common aspen, Eurasian aspen, European aspen, trembling poplar, or quaking aspen, is a species of poplar native to cool temperate regions of Europe and Asia, from the British Isles east to Kamchatka, north to inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and...
. 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 consists of a long, rather broad, strictly epidermal corridor that curves in dense loops over the leaf upper-side, without ever crossing itself. The 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...
is deposited in a vague continuous central line. The gallery ends upon the leaf margin, where it widens a little, while the leaf margin folds over somewhat. Here pupation takes place. There is no cocoon.
Taxonomy
Phyllocnistis xenia might be a synonym of Phyllocnistis labyrinthellaPhyllocnistis labyrinthella
Phyllocnistis labyrinthella is a moth of the Gracillariidae family. It is found in most of Europe, except the British Isles, Italy, the Mediterranean Islands and parts of the Balkan Peninsula.The wingspan is 6–7 mm....
. The adult moth and pupa of xenia can hardly be distinguished from the one of labyrinthella. Many authors therefore consider the two conspecific. There seems to exist a constant difference in the frass line of xenia (which is broad, vague and greenish) and that of labyrinthella (which is narrow, sharp and brownish black). Furthermore, the mine of labyrinthella often extends to the underside of the leaf, something that does not seem to happen in xenia.