Perittia echiella

Perittia echiella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Elachistidae
Genus:	Perittia
Species:	P. echiella
Binomial name
Perittia echiella (de Joannis, 1902)[1]
Synonyms
Mendesia echiella de Joannis, 1902 Mendesia symphytella Walsingham, 1907 Elachista eremella Amsel, 1935 Mendesia podonosmella Amsel, 1931

Perittia echiella is a moth of the family Elachistidae. It is found on the Iberian Peninsula, Sardinia and Sicily and in Greece.

The wingspan is about 11 mm.^[2]

The larvae feed on Echium decaisnei, Echium lusitanicum, Echium plantagineum, Podonosma orientalis and Symphytum species. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as an undulating epidermal corridor. Later, it widens into an elliptic blotch. The blotch has two levels. A silken cocoon is attached to the roof of the upper floor. The frass is deposited in a thin, continuous pale brown line.^[3] Larvae can be found from March onwards.

References

1. Fauna Europaea
2. lepiforum.de
3. bladmineerders.nl