Aspilanta

Aspilanta is a genus of very small moths in the family Heliozelidae that is native to North America. The larvae are leaf miners. Most Aspilanta species feed on Vitaceae with the exception of A. hydrangaeella and A. argentifera, which feed on species of hydrangea and Myricaceae respectively. The name of the genus is a partial anagram of Antispila.[1][2]

Aspilanta
Adult male A. oinophylla
Adult female A. viticordifoliella
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Heliozelidae
Genus: Aspilanta
van Nieukerken & Eiseman, 2020
Type species
Aspilanta oinophylla
(van Nieukerken & Wagner, 2012)[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Antispila ampelopsifoliella group van Nieukerken et al. 2012
  • Antispila “group II” Milla et al. 2019

Description

Adult Aspilanta moths are very small, with a wingspan between 4.0–6.2 mm (0.16–0.24 in) and forewings measuring 1.8–2.8 mm (0.071–0.110 in) long. The forewings are patterned with a series of pale metallic markings. They differ from Antispila species in having reduced wing venation.[1]

Eggs are inserted into the leaf tissue, typically near a vein or the leaf margin. The larvae are yellowish or whitish, usually with a dark brown head and prothorax. The leaf mine may start as a narrow linear mine that widens into a blotch or may start as a blotch, lacking a linear portion. All frass is deposited within the mine. When mature, the larvae cut out an elliptic case from the surface of their host leaf and descend to the ground to pupate.[1]

Species

This genus includes the following species:[1][2]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aspilanta.
  1. van Nieukerken, Erik J.; Eiseman, Charles S. (2020). "Splitting the leafmining shield-bearer moth genus Antispila Hübner (Lepidoptera, Heliozelidae): North American species with reduced venation placed in Aspilanta new genus, with a review of heliozelid morphology". ZooKeys (957). Pensoft Publishers: 105–161. Bibcode:2020ZooK..957..105V. doi:10.3897/zookeys.957.53908. ISSN 1313-2970.
  2. Eiseman, Charley (2020). "Genus Aspilanta". BugGuide. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
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