Ectoedemia occultella
| Ectoedemia occultella | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nepticulidae |
| Genus: | Ectoedemia |
| Species: | E. occultella |
| Binomial name | |
| Ectoedemia occultella (Linnaeus, 1767) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Ectoedemia occultella, the small birch leafminer, is a moth of the Nepticulidae family. It has a Holarctic distribution. It is found in most of Europe, east through Russia (where it has been recorded from Murmansk, Karelia, Leningrad, Samara and Tatarstan and Sakhalin) to Japan. It is also present in North America. Mines very similar to that of Ectoedemia occultella have been found on Rosaceae species in Nepal and Japan and these may belong to this species.
The wingspan is 5–7 mm. Adults are on wing from May to July.
The larvae feed on Betula ermani, Betula grossa, Betula humilis, Betula nana, Betula obscura, Betula pendula and Betula pubescens. It has also been recorded from Salix pentandra in Finland. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a round, primary, upper-surface blotch without a visible initial corridor. There are often several mines in one leaf. The mine has a dark centre, where the larva often retreats.
External links
- bladmineerders.nl
- Nepticulidae from the Volga and Ural region
- Ectoedemia occultella at UKMoths
- Swedish moths
- Ectoedemia occultella images at Consortium for the Barcode of Life