Vulcaniella rosmarinella
Encyclopedia
Vulcaniella rosmarinella is a moth
of the Cosmopterigidae
family. It is found in the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea
, as far east as Crete
.
The larvae feed on Rosmarinus officinalis. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of an upper-surface inflated blotch. The inner wall of the blotch is lined with silk. The larva moves to a new leaf a few times, penetrating it from below. Pupation takes place within the mine.
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 Cosmopterigidae
Cosmopterigidae
Cosmopterigidae is a family of insects in the Lepidoptera order. These are small moths with narrow wings whose tiny larvae feed internally on the leaves, seeds, stems, etc of their host plants. There are about 1,500 described species...
family. It is found in the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, as far east as Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
.
The larvae feed on Rosmarinus officinalis. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of an upper-surface inflated blotch. The inner wall of the blotch is lined with silk. The larva moves to a new leaf a few times, penetrating it from below. Pupation takes place within the mine.