Telamoptilia hemistacta
Encyclopedia
Telamoptilia hemistacta is a moth
of the Gracillariidae
family. It is known from India
(Bihar), Taiwan
, Japan
(the Ryukyu Islands) and Madagascar
.
The wingspan
is about 7 mm.
The larva
e feed on Achyranthes
species, including Achyranthes aspera
, Achyranthes bidentata
and Achyranthes japonica. They probably mine
the leaves of their host plant.
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 India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(Bihar), Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, 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...
(the Ryukyu Islands) and Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
.
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 7 mm.
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 Achyranthes
Achyranthes
Achyranthes is a genus of medicinal and ornamental plants in the Amaranthaceae family.Species include:* Achyranthes arborescens* Achyranthes aspera Achyranthes is a genus of medicinal and ornamental plants in the Amaranthaceae family.Species include:* Achyranthes arborescens* Achyranthes aspera...
species, including Achyranthes aspera
Achyranthes aspera
Achyranthes aspera is a species of plant in the Amaranthaceae family. It is distributed throughout the tropical world. It can be found in many places growing as an introduced species and a common weed...
, Achyranthes bidentata
Achyranthes bidentata
Achyranthes bidentata Blume is a species of Achyranthes that grows in India, Nepal, China, and Japan. It is the source of Huái niú xī, a Chinese herbal medicine with anti-inflammatory activities. In Nepal its root juice is used for toothache. Its seeds have been used as a substitute for cereal...
and Achyranthes japonica. They probably 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.