''Acrolepiopsis incertella'' 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 w ...

of the family

Acrolepiidae The Acrolepiidae are a family of moths known as false diamondback moths. In modern classifications, they are often treated as a subfamily (Acrolepiinae) of the family Glyphipterigidae. Caterpillars are typically spotted and 10 to 12 mm in l ...

. It is found in the eastern half of North America, from southern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

in the south and to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

in the west.Taxonomic review of the leek moth genus Acrolepiopsis (Lepidoptera: Acrolepiidae) in North America
The length of the forewings 4.3–6 mm. The larvae feed on the young leaves of ''

Smilax ''Smilax'' is a genus of about 300–350 species, found in the tropics and subtropics worldwide. In China for example about 80 are found (39 of which are endemic), while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico. They are climbing flowering ...

'' species, including '' Smilax tamnoides'' and ''

Smilax herbacea ''Smilax herbacea'', the smooth carrionflower or smooth herbaceous greenbrier, is a plant in the catbriar family. It is native to eastern Canada (Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick) and the eastern United States (as far south as Georgia and Alabama ...

''. Each larva ties together the margins of one of the terminal leaves of the host plant, to make a shelter. The larva lives and feeds as a skeletonizer inside this shelter. It is thought the larvae complete development and pupate in the shelter, and then emerge in late May or early June.

References

Moths described in 1872 Acrolepiidae {{Yponomeutoidea-stub