| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genus Phyllonorycter (Lepidoptera-Gracillariidae) |
Associated with trees. On Betulaceae; Betula spp. (despite the specific name).
Larvae. The larvae mining in leaves; in the under-side. Found in July, or September to October. The larva pupating in a morphologically distinct cocoon.
Pupa. The pupal cremaster with two pairs of hooked processes; two pairs of cremastal processes more or less equal in length; cremastal processes relatively short and basally broad (well developed).
Adults. Antennae coloured (slightly golden fuscous, with darker rings). Face slightly brassy white. Head dark fuscous to black. Thorax sepia or golden brown; without a median pale streak. Wing-span 7–8 mm. Forewings dark sepia brown, or golden brown (with a golden sheen); not clear shining white; with a well defined basal streak (this narrow, 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 not forming an acute angle with a dorsal one; with one transverse pale fascia (via confluence of the first pair of strigulae, which are scarcely recognisable as discrete entities). The fascia angulated. Forewings with conspicuous dark apical marking. Forewing apical marking comprising a round blackish apical spot to comprising an elongate blackish apical spot. The forewing fringe traversed towards the apex by a narrow, curved dark line (from the apical spot). Hindwing cilia light brownish fuscous. The left and right male genital valvae with entire bodies.
The left and right male genital valvae similar in size and form (oblong to slightly clavate, apically rounded). The left male genital valva not spine-tipped. The left and right male genital valvae without free costae. The aedeagus long and relatively slender with a triangular barb towards the apex.
Adults abroad May and August.
Illustrations. • Phyllonorycter ulmifoliella: Jacobs (1945). • Phyllonorycter species on Birch. 1, Phyllonorycter (Lithocolletis) cavella; 2, P. ulmifoliella; 3, P. anderidae; 4, P. corylifoliella. • P. acerifoliella (as sylvella), P. messaniella and P. ulmifoliella: Stainton (1855) Plate VI, under Lithocolletis. PYLLONORYCTER. 1, P. acerifoliella: imago (1m), larva (1a), and mined Acer leaf (1b). 2, P. messaniella: imago (2m), larva (2a) and mined leaf of evergreen oak (2b). 3, P. ulmifoliella: imago (3m), larva (3a) and mined birch leaf (3b). • Stainton (1855), Plate VI: original legend.. • Phyllonorycter ulmifoliella (specimen): photo. Phyllonorycter ulmifoliella. 7/5/39, Maer, Staffs. R.G. Warren. • P. ulmifoliella (Hübner) and 5 other species: Hübner, 1796–1819. • Phyllonorycter ulmifoliella, 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’.
