| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genus Phyllonorycter (Lepidoptera-Gracillariidae) |
Synonym: Phyllonorycter vacciniella (Stainton)
Associated with shrubs. On Ericaceae; Vaccinium (usually associated with the evergreen V. vitis-idaea (Cowberry), but Jacobs referred to "Bilberry").
Larvae. The larvae mining in leaves; in the under-side. Found in April to May, or July.
Pupa. The pupal cremaster with two pairs of hooked processes; two pairs of cremastal processes more or less equal in length (the outer stouter); cremastal processes relatively short and basally broad.
Adults. Antennae coloured (shining golden). Face white. Head orange. Thorax bright golden brown (or finely edged white); without a median pale streak. Wing-span 7–8 mm. Forewings shining golden ochreous; not clear shining white; with a well defined basal streak (this somewhat broadening, traversing about a third of the wing). The basal streak pale; dark-edged above. Forewings with well defined pale strigulae (shining white). Costal strigulae 4. Dorsal strigulae 3. Forewings with the first costal strigula approaching a dorsal one at an acute angle; without transverse pale fasciae. Forewings with conspicuous dark apical marking. Forewing apical marking comprising an elongate blackish apical spot. The forewing fringe narrowly dark-lined along the bases of the cilia. The forewing basal fringe line complete. Hindwing cilia fuscous.
The left and right male genital valvae similar in size and form to very dissimilar (oblong, the right somewhat broader). The left male genital valva not spine-tipped. The left and right male genital valvae having free costae. The left and right free costae arising near the bases of the valvae; similar (basally short, with long fairly straight spine-tips). The aedeagus long and relatively slender with a triangular barb towards the apex. The female genitalia exhibiting a signum on the bursa copulatrix (minute, pointed at each end).
Adults abroad May to June, August.
Illustrations. • Phyllonorycter junoniella: Jacobs (1945). • Phyllonorycter junoniella (specimen): photo. Phyllonorycter junoniella. Mine from Vaccinium vitis-idaea, 2/4/56. L. Watson. • P. junoniella, on Vaccinium. Phyllonorycter junoniella. Depicted here with Vaccinium myrtillus (Bilberry, at left), as well as the evergreen V. vitis-idaea (Cowberry, upper right) with which it is more often associated. • P. lantanella , P. junoniella (as vacciniella) and P. nigrescentella (as bremiella): Stainton (1855) Plate IV, under Lithocolletis. PHYLLONORYCTER. 1, P. lantanella: imago (1m), larva (1a) and mined Viburnum lantana leaf (1b). 2, P. junoniella: imago (2m), larva (2a), and mined leaf of Vaccinium vitis-idaea (2b). 3, P. nigrescentella: imago (3a), larva (3a), and mined leaf of Vicia sepium (3b). • Stainton (1855), Plate IV: original legend.. • Phyllonorycter junoniella, genitalia: Pierce and Metcalfe (1935).
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genus Phyllonorycter (Lepidoptera-Gracillariidae) Version: 14th April 2022. delta-intkey.com’.
