Caloptilia leucapennella

Caloptilia leucapennella
Caloptilia leucapennella
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Gracillariidae
Genus: Caloptilia
Species: C. leucapennella
Binomial name
Caloptilia leucapennella
(Stephens, 1835)[1]
Synonyms
  • Gracillaria leucapennella Stephens, 1835
  • Povolnya leucapennella
  • Coriscium citrinellum Zeller, 1839

Caloptilia leucapennella is a moth of the Gracillariidae family. It is known from all of Europe, except the Balkan Peninsula.

The wingspan is about 13 mm. The typical form of the adult is a pale yellowish white, but there are variations, ranging to the rufous form f. aurantiella. Adults are on wing from July to October and overwinter.[2]

The larvae feed on Quercus ilex and Quercus robur. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a narrow lower-surface epidermal gallery, that widens into an oval, eventually full depth blotch between two side veins. Older larvae live freely, at first in a folded leaf margin, later in a partly rolled leaf tip. They possibly prefer young leaves.[3]

Referenced