''Ectoedemia intimella'' 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 Nepticulidae which is found in Europe. It flies in June and July and the larva

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

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 s ...

s (''Salix'' species) from July to November.

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 of ...

is 5.3 to 6.8 mm. The head is ferruginous to orange, the collar whitish. Antennae are wholly ochreous-whitish. The forewings are blackish or dark fuscous, faintly purplish-tinged ; an ochreous whitish dorsal spot hardly beyond middle ; tips of apical cilia white. Hindwings grey.Meyrick, E., 1895 ''A Handbook of British Lepidoptera'' MacMillan, Londo
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Keys and description Adults are on wing in June and July and there is one generation per year.

Life cycle

Egg

Eggs are laid in June and July on the upperside of the midrib of a willow leaf. It is hard to find, but it is usually approximately 10 mm nearer the petiole then where the larva enters the midrib to start the mine.

Larva

The larva is pale yellow with a green gut and its head is pale brown. At first they mine the midrib and then make a blotch in the leaf. It makes a double line of

frass Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter. Definition and etymology ''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...

with a passage between the lines of frass leading back to the midrib. When not feeding the larva hides in the midrib and when too large for the midrib it rests between the line of frass. Eventually the larva remains at the feeding edge of the mine and the frass is deposited haphazardly, blocking the passage to the midrib. Occasionally a larva mines the petiole and rarely a lateral rib. If a leaf falls the larva can be found in a green island and waterlogging does not seem to affect the larva.

Pupa

The pupa can be found from November to June, in a pale orcheous to light reddish brown cocoon, on the ground or in leaf litter.

Ecology

The moth is univoltine (i.e. one generation per year) and can be disturbed from the foliage of the larval food plant.

Host plants

It feeds on eared willow (''

Salix aurita ''Salix aurita'', the eared willow, is a species of willow distributed over much of Europe, and occasionally cultivated. It is a shrub to 2.5 m in height, distinguished from the similar but slightly larger ''Salix cinerea'' by its reddish ...

''), Babylon willow ('' Salix babylonica''), goat willow ('' Salix caprea''), grey willow (''

Salix cinerea ''Salix cinerea'' (common sallow, grey sallow, grey willow, grey-leaved sallow, large grey willow, pussy willow, rusty sallow) is a species of willow native to Europe and western Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain ...

''), ''

Salix dasyclados 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 ...

'', crack willow ('' Salix fragilis''), bay willow (''

Salix pentandra 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 ...

''), tea-leaved willow (''

Salix phylicifolia ''Salix phylicifolia'', the tea-leaved willow, is a species of willow native to Northern Europe including Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Scandinavia, Finland, Russia, and Western Siberia. It was the first bush found on the new volcanic island of Sur ...

'') and common osier (''

Salix viminalis ''Salix viminalis'', the basket willow, common osier or osier, is a species of willow native to Europe, Western Asia, and the Himalayas.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. .Rushforth, K ...

'').

Distribution

Widely distributed in northern, western and central Europe, but not yet recorded from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. In the south it is only known from northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, northern former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

References

External links

Fauna Europaea

Plant Parasites of Europe

UKMoths

''Ectoedemia intimella'' images
at Consortium for the Barcode of Life
A Taxonomic Revision Of The Western Palaearctic Species Of The Subgenera Zimmermannia Hering And Ectoedemia Busck s.str. (Lepidoptera, Nepticulidae), With Notes On Their Phylogeny
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5334102 Nepticulidae Leaf miners Moths described in 1848 Moths of Europe Taxa named by Philipp Christoph Zeller