''Ancylis discigerana'', the birch leaffolder or yellow birch leaffolder moth, 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
Tortricidae. It is found in north-eastern North America.
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 of ...
is 13–14 mm. There is one generation per year.
Biology of Ancylis discigerana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)
/ref>
The larvae feed on ''Betula alleghaniensis
''Betula alleghaniensis'', the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the pa ...
''. The first two instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...
s skeletonise the lower surface of a leaf of their host plant. They feed from beneath a sheet of silk that is constructed between two lateral veins. Third instar larvae move to the upper surface of a different leaf and fold it lengthwise. They then feed on the upper epidermis within the fold until the leaf falls down.
Gallery
Image:Ancylis discigerana damage.jpg, Damage
Image:Ancylis_discigerana_damage1.jpg, Damage
Image:Ancylis discigerana damage2.jpg, Damage
Image:Ancylis discigerana damage3.jpg, Damage
References
Moths described in 1863
Enarmoniini
Moths of North America
{{Olethreutinae-stub