''Ectoedemia heringella'' is a
moth of the family
Nepticulidae. It is found in the
Mediterranean Region, from southern
France,
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
,
Sardinia, and
Italy to
Cyprus. It was first recorded from
Great Britain in 2002.
The
wingspan is 4.4–6 mm. Adults are on wing from late April to the end of June. There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed on ''
Quercus alnifolia
''Quercus alnifolia'', commonly known as the golden oak, is an evergreen oak species of Cyprus. Its common English name refers to the golden coloured lower surface of its leaves. ''Quercus alnifolia'' belongs to the endemic flora of the island a ...
'' and ''
Quercus ilex
''Quercus ilex'', the evergreen oak, holly oak or holm oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the ''Ilex'' section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer.
Description
An evergreen tr ...
''. They
mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a strongly contorted gallery, almost entirely filled with black
frass
Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter.
Definition and etymology
''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...
. There are often many mines in a single leaf.
File:Ectoedemia_heringella_mines_and_larvae_on_Quercus_ilex.JPG, Mines and larvae on ''Quercus ilex''
File:Ectoedemia_heringella_male_genitalia.JPG, Male genitalia
File:Ectoedemia_heringella_female_genitalia.JPG, Female genitalia
File:Ectoedemia_heringella_female_terminal_abdominal_segment.JPG, Female terminal abdominal segment
External links
Fauna EuropaeaA Taxonomic Revision Of The Western Palaearctic Species Of The Subgenera Zimmermannia Hering And Ectoedemia Busck s.str. (Lepidoptera, Nepticulidae), With Notes On Their Phylogeny
Nepticulidae
Moths of Europe
Moths described in 1939
{{Ectoedemia-stub