''Eriocrania unimaculella'' (also known as the White-spot Purple) is a

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 Eriocraniidae found in

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 ...

. It was first described by the Swedish

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt (20 May 1785 – 23 December 1874) was a Sweden, Swedish Naturalism (philosophy) , naturalist who worked mainly on Diptera and Hymenoptera. Biography Zetterstedt studied at the Lund University, University of Lund, where ...

in 1839. The larvae feed inside the leaves of birch (''

Betula A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

'' species), making a mine.

Description

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 about 1 cm. The head is fuscous, mixed with ochreous-whitish. The forewings are elongate, bronzy-purple, more or less sprinkled with pale shining golden and there is a narrow slightly curved transverse white dorsal spot before the tornus, reaching about half across the wing; cilia grey Vein 9 is present. The hindwings are grey, posteriorly purplish-tinged. The larva is whitish; head brown, mouth darker, posterior lobes showing through segment 2 as blackish spots; segment 6 with small projections. The moth flies from March to April and is the only one of the Eriocraniidae which does not have the distinct golden mottling and a whitish tornal spot; they have purple forewings. ;

Ovum The egg cell or ovum (: ova) is the female reproductive cell, or gamete, in most anisogamous organisms (organisms that reproduce sexually with a larger, female gamete and a smaller, male one). The term is used when the female gamete is not capa ...

Eggs are laid in the leaf-buds of birch. ;Larva Larvae can be found in April and May, are whitish with a brown head and have papillae (small lumps) on the first thoracic segment which show as blackish spots. They mine the leaves of birch (''

'' species), forming a large, white, full depth blotch which withers and disintegrate by late summer. The

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 ...

is in long threads and the mine can only be identified when the larva can be seen. Mines have been found on silver birch (''

Betula pendula ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family (biology), family Betulaceae, native plant, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in so ...

'') and downy birch (''

Betula pubescens ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

''). ;Pupa The larvae overwinter as a

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

in the soil, in a tough silken cocoon.

Distribution

The moth is found in Europe; from Great Britain, Ireland and France in the west, north to

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

and east to Russia. The species has been considered invasive and spreading rapidly in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

since 2005.

Etymology

The moth was originally named ''Adela unimaculella'' and described by Zetterstedt in 1839 from a

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

found in Southern Lapland. ''Adela'' was raised by the French

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Pierre André Latreille Pierre André Latreille (; 29 November 1762 – 6 February 1833) was a French zoology, zoologist, specialising in arthropods. Having trained as a Roman Catholic priest before the French Revolution, Latreille was imprisoned, and only regained hi ...

in 1796. ''Adela'' means unseen, from the larval habit of concealing itself in a portable case (but not in the case of this species of moth). Until recently, the moth was in the genus ''

Eriocrania ''Eriocrania'' is a Palearctic genus of moth of the family Eriocraniidae. The moths are Diurnality, diurnal, flying in sunshine, and the larvae are leaf miners, forming blotches in leaves. Description The moths are diurnal flying in sunshine, at ...

'', which was raised by

Philipp Christoph Zeller Philipp Christoph Zeller (8 April 1808 – 27 March 1883) was a German entomologist. Zeller was born at Steinheim an der Murr, Württemberg, two miles from Marbach, the birthplace of Schiller. The family moved to Frankfurt (Oder) where Ph ...

in 1851. ''Erion'' means wool and ''kranion'' means the upper part of the head, which refers to the hair-scales on the top of the head. The moth is now in the

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

''Heringocrania''. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''unimaculella'' is from ''unus'' – one, and ''macula'' – referring to the white spot on the forewing.

References

External links

Swedish Moths

UKmoths

Lepiforum de
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1382468 unimaculella Leaf miners Moths described in 1839 Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt