Marmara arbutiella

Marmara arbutiella
Marmara arbutiella
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Gracillariidae
Genus: Marmara
Species: M. arbutiella
Binomial name
Marmara arbutiella
Busck, 1904

Marmara arbutiella is a moth of the Gracillariidae family. It is known from Canada and the United States (Oregon, Washington and California).[1]

The larvae feed on Arbutus menziesii, Arbutus unedo and Arctostaphylos species. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a very long, irregular, winding, serpentine mine just under the upper epidermis of the leaf. There are three behaviorally and morphologically distinct larval forms. There are six to eight sap-feeding and two non-feeding, structurally differentiated instars. The early instars are legless sap feeders. The first of the non-feeding instars never issues from the cuticle of the previous (feeding) instar. The second non-feeding stage is a fully legged, with rudimentary feeding structures and a functional spinneret. Upon issuing from the mine, this instar spins a cocoon that is elaborately decorated with clusters pearly bubbles that are extruded from its anus and then individually attached to the exterior of the cocoon.[2]

References

  1. ^ Global Taxonomic Database of Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera)
  2. ^ A Hidden Past: the Hypermetamorphic Development of Marmara arbutiella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae)

External links

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