Phyllonorycter blancardella
Encyclopedia
Phyllonorycter blancardella is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from all of Europe
, east to Ukraine
and central Anatolia
.
The wingspan
is 6-9 mm. Adults emerge in May and again in August in two generations in western Europe.
The larva
e feed on Malus angustifolia
, Malus x astracanica, Malus baccata
, Malus coronaria
, Malus domestica, Malus floribunda
, Malus fusca
, Malus ringo, Malus x robusta and Malus sylvestris
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a lower surface tentiform mine. The epidermis is yellow-green and has some folds. Pupation takes place within the mine. The pupa is amber or chestnut brown, and is made within in a white cocoon.
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 all of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, east to Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and central Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
.
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 6-9 mm. Adults emerge in May and again in August in two generations in western Europe.
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 Malus angustifolia
Malus angustifolia
Malus angustifolia, or Southern crabapple, is a species of crabapple. The fruit is astringent and acidic and is not palatable when raw. The fruit can be use to make jellies, jams and food preserves. The fruits are small and have an aromatic scent and a pear-like shape. It is a tree that is grown as...
, Malus x astracanica, Malus baccata
Malus baccata
Malus baccata is a species of apple known by the common names Siberian crabapple, Siberian crab, Manchurian crab apple and Chinese crab apple. It is native to most of Asia, but is also grown elsewhere as an ornamental tree and for rootstock. It is used for bonsai in Japan...
, Malus coronaria
Malus coronaria
Malus coronaria, also known by the names sweet crabapple or garland crab, is a North American species of Malus . It often is a bushy shrub with rigid, contorted branches, but frequently becomes a small tree with a broad open head. It prefers rich moist soil and is most abundant east of the...
, Malus domestica, Malus floribunda
Malus floribunda
Malus floribunda, or Japanese flowering crabapple, originates from Japan and East Asia. It may be a wild species, or a hybrid of M. sieboldii x M. baccata....
, Malus fusca
Malus fusca
Malus fusca is a species of crabapple. It is native to western North America from Alaska to California, where it grows in coniferous forests. The fruits are small round apple-shaped pomes....
, Malus ringo, Malus x robusta and Malus sylvestris
Malus sylvestris
Malus sylvestris, the European wild apple, is a species of Malus , native to Europe from as far south as Spain, Italy and Greece to as far north as Scandinavia and Russia. Its scientific name means "forest apple", and the truly wild tree has thorns.In the past, M. sylvestris was thought to be an...
. 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 lower surface tentiform mine. The epidermis is yellow-green and has some folds. Pupation takes place within the mine. The pupa is amber or chestnut brown, and is made within in a white cocoon.