| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genus Phyllonorycter (Lepidoptera-Gracillariidae) |
Associated with shrubs. On Viburnaceae; Viburnum (also, rarely, on Sorbus aucuparia).
Larvae. The larvae mining in leaves; in the under-side. Found in July, or September to October. The larva not constructing a definite cocoon.
Pupa. The pupal cremaster with one pair of hooked processes; cremastal processes long and thin.
Adults. Antennae coloured (whitish golden, ringed fuscous). Face white. Head orange. Thorax golden yellow, or brown; with a conspicuous median pale streak. Wing-span 8–9 mm. Forewings light golden ochreous; not clear shining white; with a well defined basal streak (this traversing about a third of the wing). The basal streak pale; dark-edged above. Forewings with well defined pale strigulae (shining silvery 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 a blackish, anteriorly white-edged apical spot. The forewing fringe narrowly dark-lined along the bases of the cilia. The forewing basal fringe line complete (fairly strong). Hindwing cilia fuscous (with a golden sheen).
The left and right male genital valvae similar in size and form (narrowly lanceolate). The left male genital valva not spine-tipped; (this and the right one) with a single costal-marginal spine towards the apex (and both also with 6 tufts of costal-marginal bristles). The left and right male genital valvae without free costae. The aedeagus long and relatively slender with a triangular barb towards the apex. The female genitalia exhibiting a signum on the bursa copulatrix (pointed at either end).
Adults abroad May and August.
General comments. The dorsum narrowly white edged near its base.
Illustrations. • P. lantanella with food-plants. Phyllonorycter lantanella, with food-plant species Viburnum opulus (Guelder Rose, left), and Viburnum lantana (Wayfaring Tree, right). • Phyllonorycter lantanella: Jacobs (1945). • 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 lantanella, 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’.
