''Pectinivalva quintiniae'' 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
Nepticulidae is a family of very small moths with a worldwide distribution. They are characterised by eyecaps over the eyes (see also Opostegidae, Bucculatricidae, Lyonetiidae). These pigmy moths or midget moths, as they are commonly known, inc ...
. It is found in northern
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
(
Border Ranges National Park
The Border Ranges National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. A small portion of the national park is also located in South East Queensland. The park is situated approxi ...
) and southern
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
(
Lamington National Park
The Lamington National Park is a national park, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border in Australia. From Southport on the Gold Coast the park is to the southwest and Brisbane is north. Th ...
).
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 4.7–4.8 mm for males and 5.0–5.8 mm for females. The thorax, tegulae and forewings are uniform shining fuscous with strong blue to violet reflections. The hindwings are grey.
Phylogeny and host-plant relationships of the Australian Myrtaceae leafmining moth genus Pectinivalva (Lepidoptera, Nepticulidae), with new subgenera and species
/ref>
The larvae feed on '' Quintinia verdonii''. 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 has the form of a long, meandering gallery, with central line of blackish 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 ...
taking up most of mine width except near the end where the gallery broadens and the frass takes up only half of the width. The exit-hole is located on the underside and has the form of a semicircular to oval hole. Pupation takes place in a reddish-brown cocoon.
Etymology
The specific name is derived from the hostplant genus.
Gallery
File:Pectinivalva quintiniae live male.jpg, Living male
File:Pectinivalva_quintiniae_mine1.jpg, Mine
File:Pectinivalva_quintiniae_mine.jpg, Mine
References
Moths described in 2013
Moths of Australia
Nepticulidae
{{Nepticulidae-stub