''Stigmella obliquella'' 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 Nepticulidae which feeds on

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist ...

(''Salix'' species) and can be found in Asia and Europe. It was first described by

Hermann von Heinemann Hermann von Heinemann (1 March 1812 in Helmstedt – 18 December 1871 in Braunschweig) was a German entomologist who specialised initially in Coleoptera and later in Lepidoptera. Heinemann was a customs inspector. He wrote ''Die Schmetterlinge Deut ...

in 1862.

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...

is 4.6–6 mm.A small, dark moth. The head is covered with yellow, hair-like scales, the enlarged first antennae joint and the collar are white. The body and forewing are blackish-brown, the forewing has a cream-coloured transverse band in the middle that is narrower in the middle. The hind wing is grey. The larva is yellow. Meyrick - The head is orange, the collar yellow-white. Antennal eyecaps yellow-white. Forewings are coarse, dark brown basal to the yellowish cross fascia, apex black. Hindwings grey. The morphology of the genitalia must be examined for certain determination. Adults are on wing from April to May and again in August.

Life cycle

Eggs

Laid on either side of a leaf of one of the smooth-leaved willows in May–June or August–September.

Larva

The larva is amber-yellow with a brown head and has a faint chain of pear-shaped dark ventral spots. The larvae feed on ''

Salix alba ''Salix alba'', the white willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. .Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain a ...

'', ''S. babylonica'', ''Salix x sepulcralis'' 'Chrysocoma', ''

Salix x fragilis Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

'', ''S. pentandra'', ''S. triandra'' and '' ''S. viminalis''''.

Pupa

Pupation takes place outside of the mine.

Distribution

It is found in all of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

(except the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whol ...

), east to eastern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

and China.

References

Content in this edit is translated from the existing Norwegian Wikipedia article at :no:Stigmella obliquella; see its history for attribution.

External links

''Stigmella obliquella'' at UKMoths

Plant Parasites of Europe

''Stigmella obliquella'' images
at

Consortium for the Barcode of Life The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) was an international initiative dedicated to supporting the development of DNA barcoding as a global standard for species identification. CBOL's Secretariat Office is hosted by the National Museum of ...

Nepticulidae from the Volga and Ural region
Nepticulidae Leaf miners Moths described in 1862 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Hermann von Heinemann {{Stigmella-stub