''Caloptilia belfragella'' 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

Gracillariidae Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, ''Cameraria ...

. It is known from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(including Texas, Maine, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan).Global Taxonomic Database of Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera)
/ref> The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e feed on ''

Rhus typhina ''Rhus typhina'', the staghorn sumac, is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae, native to eastern North America. It is primarily found in southeastern Canada, the northeastern and midwestern United States, and the Appalachian M ...

'', ''

Cornus ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...

'' species (including ''

Cornus asperifolia ''Cornus asperifolia'', called toughleaf dogwood, is species of ''Cornus ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by thei ...

'' and ''

Cornus drummondii ''Cornus drummondii'', commonly known as the roughleaf dogwood, is a small deciduous tree that is native primarily to the Great Plains and Midwestern regions of the United States. It is also found around the Mississippi River. It is uncommon in ...

'') and ''

Vaccinium ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whort ...

'' species. 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 ...

the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as an underside tentiform mine that resembles the mine of ''

Phyllonorycter ''Phyllonorycter'' is a genus of moths in the family Gracillariidae. Diversity The genus comprises about 400 species, with a worldwide distribution. The vast majority of species are found in the temperate regions, with about 257 species describe ...

'' species. Later instars (in most cases) roll an entire leaf evenly lengthwise, although some individuals do roll a transverse cone as is typical for the genus.

References

External links

Caloptilia at microleps.orgmothphotographersgroupBug Guide
belfragella Moths of North America Moths described in 1875 {{Caloptilia-stub