''Stigmella allophylica'' 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 was described by Scoble in 1978. It is found in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

(it was described from the Umhlanga Rocks in Natal). The larvae feed on ''

Allophylus natalensis ''Allophylus natalensis'', commonly known as the dune false crowberry or dune false currant, is a species of plant in the genus ''Allophylus'' native to south-eastern Africa. Description ''Allophylus natalensis'' is a small evergreen tree with a ...

''. They probably

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.

References

Endemic moths of South Africa Nepticulidae Moths of Africa Moths described in 1978 {{Stigmella-stub