''Pectinivalva acmenae'' 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

Nepticulidae Nepticulidae is a family of very small moths with a worldwide distribution. They are characterised by eyecaps over the eyes (see also Opostegidae, Bucculatricidae, Lyonetiidae). These pigmy moths or midget moths, as they are commonly known, inc ...

. It is found in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. 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 4.5–5.5 mm for males and 5.2–5.6 mm for females. The thorax, tegulae and forewings are uniform shining dark grey with strong blue reflections. There is an inconspicuous tornal spot consisting of a few white scales. The hindwings are pale grey.Phylogeny and host-plant relationships of the Australian Myrtaceae leafmining moth genus Pectinivalva (Lepidoptera, Nepticulidae), with new subgenera and species
The larvae feed on ''

Syzygium smithii ''Syzygium smithii'' (formerly ''Acmena smithii'') is a summer-flowering, winter-fruiting evergreen tree, native to Australia and belonging to the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It shares the common name "lilly pilly" with several other plants. It is p ...

''. 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 M ...

the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a long, very narrow contorted gallery, filled with brown

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 ...

apart from irregular crenulations along the mine edge. The exit-hole is located on the underside and has the form of a semicircular hole. Pupation takes place in a reddish-brown cocoon.

Etymology

The specific name is derived from the former host-plant genus. Because the moth is referred to under this manuscript name in the first author's unpublished thesis, the authors have chosen to retain it for consistency, in spite of the change in classification of the host-plant.

References

Moths described in 2013 Moths of Australia Nepticulidae {{Nepticulidae-stub