''Pectinivalva tribulatrix'' 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

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_ ...

(

Cape Tribulation Cape Tribulation is a headland and coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas in northern Queensland, Australia. In the , Cape Tribulation had a population of 118 people. Geography The locality is north of Cairns. It is within the Daintree Na ...

). 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 3.5 mm for males and 3.2 mm for females. The thorax and forewings are entirely shining grey fuscous. The hindwings are grey, with an androconial pocket in the basal half.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 ''

Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa ''Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa'' is a species of the botanical family Myrtaceae. It grows into a tree, native to north-east Australia, New Guinea and the Aru Islands, and is also known as wannakai, finger cherry, or Cooktown loquat. In Australia, bo ...

''. 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 narrow, long gallery, either completely meandering, or partly straight and following a major vein. 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 black, broken and dispersed over the total gallery width, not leaving clear margins. The edges of the gallery are not straight but irregular. The exit-hole is located on the underside and consists of a semicircular to oval hole. Pupation takes place in a reddish-brown cocoon.

Etymology

The species name is derived from the Latin ''tribulare'' (meaning to press), hence ''tribulatio'' (meaning distress, trouble) or ''tribulatrix'' (meaning one who causes trouble) and refers partly to the type locality (Cape Tribulation), and partly to difficulties the authors encountered in identifying the host plant.

References

Moths described in 2013 Moths of Australia Nepticulidae {{Nepticulidae-stub