''Parafomoria ladaniphila'' 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. It is found in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and southern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The length of the forewings is 1.7-1.85 mm for males and 1.7-1.8 mm for females. Adults are on wing from June to July. The larvae feed on ''

Cistus ladanifer ''Cistus ladanifer'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Cistaceae. It is native to the western Mediterranean region. Common names include gum rockrose, labdanum, common gum cistus, and brown-eyed rockrose. Description It is a shrub ...

''. 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 consists of a short, very narrow, almost invisible gallery, soon becoming a full depth circular blotch, in which the

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 ...

is concentrated in a circular spot in the centre. The larva often hides beneath the aggregation of frass. The leaf swells in the position of the mine, forming a blister on the leaf underside. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.

External links

Fauna EuropaeaThe Cistaceae-feeding Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) of the western Palaearctic region
Nepticulidae Moths of Europe Moths described in 1910 {{nepticulidae-stub