''Leucoptera laburnella'' (laburnum leaf miner) is a
moth in the family
Lyonetiidae
Lyonetiidae is a family of moths with some 200 described species. These are small, slender moths, the wingspan rarely exceeding 1 cm. The very narrow forewings, held folded backwards covering the hindwings and abdomen, often have pointed ap ...
. It is found in most of
Europe, except the European part of
Russia and the southern part of 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 who ...
. It is also found in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
.
Description
The forewings are white; an oblique ochreous-yellow bar from costa beyond middle, edged with dark fuscous ; a nearly vertical ochreous-yellow costal spot before apex, edged with dark fuscous parallel lines ; beneath this a pale violet -golden -metallic post-tornal spot, edged on sides with black and above with yellowish ; apex yellowish ; three diverging dark fuscous bars in apical cilia. Hindwings are whitish. The larva is green-whitish.
Biology
The larvae feed on ''
Astragalus'', ''
Chamaecytisus supinus'', ''
Genista tinctoria
''Genista tinctoria'', the dyer's greenweed or dyer's broom, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. Its other common names include dyer's whin, waxen woad and waxen wood. The Latin specific epithet ''tinctoria'' means "used as a ...
'', ''
Laburnocytisus adamii'', ''
Laburnum alpinum
''Laburnum alpinum'', the Scotch laburnum, Scottish laburnum or alpine laburnum, is a leguminous, (''Leguminosae''), deciduous tree.
Description
''Laburnum alpinum'' is similar to '' Laburnum anagyroides'', it grows to by , at a fast rate. It i ...
'', ''
Laburnum anagyroides
''Laburnum anagyroides'' ( syn. ''Cytisus laburnum''), the common laburnum, golden chain or golden rain, is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Faboideae, and genus ''Laburnum''. '' Laburnum alpinum'' is closely related. It is native t ...
'', ''
Lupinus polyphyllus
''Lupinus polyphyllus'', the large-leaved lupine, big-leaved lupine, many-leaved lupine, blue-pod lupine, or, primarily in cultivation, garden lupin, is a species of lupine (lupin) native to western North America from southern Alaska and Britis ...
'' and ''
Petteria ramentacea'' (
). They
mine the leaves of their host plant. The mines are undistinguishable from those of ''
Leucoptera genistae
''Leucoptera genistae'' is a moth in the family Lyonetiidae. It is found in France, Italy, Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria.
The larvae feed on ''Genista anglica'' and ''Genista germanica''. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine ...
''. The mine starts as a densely contorted corridor, that quickly turns brown. It is followed by a more or less straight corridor entirely filled with greyish-green
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 G ...
. Then it widens into a round blotch that overruns the earlier corridor and in the end may occupy half of a leaflet. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.
References
Leucoptera (moth)
Leaf miners
Moths described in 1851
Moths of Europe
Moths of North America
{{Leucoptera-stub