''Eucosmophora pouteriae'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

of the family

Gracillariidae Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, ''Camerar ...

. It is known from Costa Rica. The length of the forewings is 3.2–3.6 mm for males and 3.7 mm for females.Biology and systematics of the neotropical leafminer genus Eucosmophora (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae)
/ref> The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e feed on ''

Pouteria campechiana ''Pouteria campechiana'' (commonly known as the cupcake fruit, eggfruit, zapote amarillo or canistel) is an evergreen tree native to, and cultivated in, southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador. It is cultivated in other countries ...

''. They

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

the leaves of their host plant. The early mine is serpentine, yellow-tan, with a dark central

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 G ...

line. The lower surface of the blotch mine is yellow-brown, and appears to be made well into the parenchyma as it is inconspicuous from both leaf surfaces initially. Mines are often formed close to the midrib. The blotch runs between adjacent lateral veins, but may cross over the veins when situated peripherally on the lamina. Tissue-feeding instars remove patches of parenchyma to the upper leaf surface. The cocoon is chocolate brown.

Etymology

The specific name is derived from the generic name, ''

Pouteria ''Pouteria'' is a genus of flowering trees in the gutta-percha family, Sapotaceae. The genus is widespread throughout the tropical regions of the world. It includes the canistel ('' P. campechiana''), the mamey sapote ('' P. sapota''), and the l ...

'', of the only recorded larval host.

References

Acrocercopinae Moths described in 2005 {{Acrocercopinae-stub