''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

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and

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 ...

. The length of the forewings is 1.9–2 mm for males and about 2.2 mm for females. Adults are on wing from February to March. The larvae feed on ''

Tuberaria lignosa ''Tuberaria lignosa'' is a species of perennial rock-rose native to the western Mediterranean region. Description ''Tuberaria lignosa'' is a perennial herb, often woody towards the base. It reaches a height of and branches freely. Its leaves a ...

''. 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 tortuous narrow corridor, ending in a small blotch. 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 deposited in a broad brown line.

External links

Fauna EuropaeaThe Cistaceae-feeding Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) of the western Palaearctic region
Nepticulidae Moths of Europe Moths of Africa Moths described in 1904 {{nepticulidae-stub