''Bucculatrix maritima'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Bucculatricidae Bucculatricidae or (Bucculatrigidae) is a family of moths. This small family has representatives in all parts of the world. Some authors place the group as a subfamily of the family Lyonetiidae. Adults of this family are easily overlooked, bei ...

. It is found in most of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

(except the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

(the islands of

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

and

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

). It was first described in 1851 by

Henry Tibbats Stainton Henry Tibbats Stainton (13 August 1822 – 2 December 1892) was an England, English entomologist. He served as an editor for two popular entomology periodicals of his period, ''The Entomologist's Annual'' and ''The Entomologist's Weekly Intellig ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 8–9 mm. The head is pale greyish-ochreous, centre sometimes fuscous. Forewings are light greyish-ochreous, more or less irrorated with fuscous; a short median streak from base, pairs of costal and dorsal undefined spots before middle and at 3/4 whitish, often very indistinct; plical and second discal stigmata minute, black. Hindwings are rather dark grey. The larva is pale greyish-green; dorsal line darker, head yellowish; segment 2 yellowish-grey, blackish- dotted.Zagulajev, A.K., 1990 Bucculatricidae; in G.S. Medvedev (ed.): ''Keys to the insects of the europaean part of the USSR'', Vol.IV: Lepidoptera, part 2 (english translation), Oxonian Press Pvt.Ltd., New Dehli, 1987 Adults are on wing in June and again in August. There are two generations per year. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e feed on sea aster (''

Aster tripolium ''Tripolium pannonicum'', called sea aster or seashore aster and often known by the synonyms ''Aster tripolium'' or ''Aster pannonicus'', is a flowering plant, native to Eurasia and northern Africa, that is confined in its distribution to salt ma ...

''). They mine the leaves of their host plant.

Gallery

Image:Bucculatrix maritima mined leaf of Aster tripolium.JPG, Mined leaf of ''

'' Image:Bucculatrix maritima larva.JPG, Larva

References

External links

Plant Parasites of Europe

ukmoths
Bucculatricidae Leaf miners Moths described in 1851 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Henry Tibbats Stainton {{Gracillarioidea-stub