The apple blotch leafminer (''Phyllonorycter crataegella'') 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

Gracillariidae Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, ''Camerar ...

. It is known from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(Nova Scotia, Québec, Ontario and New Brunswick) the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, California, Maine, Vermont, Oregon, Arkansas, Connecticut and Illinois).Global Taxonomic Database of Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera)
/ref> 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 o ...

is 5.5–6 mm. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e feed on '' Amelanchier'' species (including '' Amelanchier canadensis''), ''

Aronia ''Aronia'' is a genus of deciduous shrubs, the chokeberries, in the family Rosaceae native to eastern North America and most commonly found in wet woods and swamps. The genus Aronia is considered to have 3 species. The most common and wi ...

'' species, '' Crataegus'' species (including ''

Crataegus mollis ''Crataegus mollis'', known as downy hawthorn or red hawthorn, is a species of plant that occurs in eastern North America from southeastern North Dakota east to Nova Scotia and southwest to eastern Texas. The range of this species is from souther ...

''), ''

Cydonia Cydonia may refer to: Music * ''Cydonia'' (album), a 2001 album by The Orb * "Cydonia", a track by heavy metal band Crimson Glory from '' Astronomica'' Places and jurisdictions * Kydonia or Cydonia, an ancient city state on Crete, at modern ...

'' species (including '' Cydonia japonica'' and ''

Cydonia oblonga The quince (; ''Cydonia oblonga'') is the sole member of the genus ''Cydonia'' in the Malinae subtribe (which also contains apples and pears, among other fruits) of the Rosaceae family. It is a deciduous tree that bears hard, aromatic bright ...

''), ''

Malus ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries. The genus is native to the temperate zone ...

'' species (including '' Malus coronaria'', ''

Malus domestica An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

'', '' Malus malus'', ''

Malus pumila An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

'', ''

Malus sieboldii ''Malus sieboldii'', commonly called Siebold's crab, Siebold's crabapple or Toringo crabapple, is a species of crabapple in the family Rosaceae. Taxonomy Some botanists have reclassified it as ''Malus toringo''. Varieties It is sometimes cons ...

'' and ''

Malus sylvestris ''Malus sylvestris'', the European crab apple, is a species of the genus ''Malus'', native to Europe. Its scientific name means "forest apple" and the truly wild tree has thorns. Description Wild apple has an expanded crown and often appears mo ...

''), '' Photinia'' species, ''

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, Cherry, cherries, peaches, Peach#Nectarine, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of Sou ...

'' species (including ''

Prunus americana ''Prunus americana'', commonly called the American plum, wild plum, or Marshall's large yellow sweet plum, is a species of ''Prunus'' native to North America from Saskatchewan and Idaho south to New Mexico and east to Québec, Maine and Florida ...

'', ''

Prunus avium ''Prunus avium'', commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, gean, or bird cherryWorld Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. is a species of cherry, a flowering plant in the rose family, ...

'', ''

Prunus domestica ''Prunus domestica'', the European plum is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. A deciduous tree, it includes many varieties of the fruit trees known as plums in English, though not all plums belong to this species. The greengag ...

'', '' Prunus pennsylvanica'', ''

Prunus persica ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the ...

'', ''

Prunus serotina ''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the g ...

'' and ''

Prunus virginiana ''Prunus virginiana'', commonly called bitter-berry, chokecherry, Virginia bird cherry, and western chokecherry (also black chokecherry for ''P. virginiana'' var. ''demissa''), is a species of bird cherry (''Prunus'' subgenus ''Padus'') nat ...

''), '' Pyrus'' species (including ''

Pyrus communis ''Pyrus communis'', the common pear, is a species of pear native to central and eastern Europe, and western Asia. It is one of the most important fruits of temperate regions, being the species from which most orchard pear cultivars grown in Eu ...

'' and '' Pyrus coronaria'') and ''

Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depe ...

'' species (including '' Sorbus americana'' and '' Sorbus aucuparia''). They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a tentiform mine on the underside of the leaf.

References

crataegella Moths of North America Moths described in 1859 {{Phyllonorycter-stub