Leaf miners

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Leaf miners
Caloptilia cuculipennella

Caloptilia cuculipennella

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Subordination : Glossata
Superfamily : Gracillarioidea
Family : Leaf miners
Scientific name
Gracillariidae
Stainton , 1854
Chestnut leaves damaged by the horse chestnut leaf miner

The leaf miner or leaf bag moths (Gracillariidae) are a family of butterflies (Lepidoptera).

features

Leaf miners are small to very small moths with a well-developed proboscis and long antennae that mainly fly at dusk. In the rest position, the front body is usually raised. The wings of the animals are narrow and often have long fringes.

The caterpillars of the leaf miners are usually very flat and have forward-facing mandibles . The majority of the caterpillars live as miners in leaves. The caterpillars of the first larval stages usually have mandibles that allow cells to be pierced and sucked out; these then change in the later larval stages. This means that larvae of different ages can look very different ( polymetabolism ). The oldest larval stages of many species live in rolled up leaves and gnaw their insides.

Harmful effect

Many of the leaf miner species specialize in a single host plant and cause damage that is characteristic of the respective species. The damage is usually limited to a reduction in the value of the jewelry. With recurring strong infestation it can lead to growth depressions. For the harmful effects of a special species on the common horse chestnut ( Aesculus hippocastanum ) in Europe, see horse chestnut leaf miner ( Cameraria ohridella ).

Horse chestnut leaves damaged by leaf miners

Systematics

The family includes around 1000 species worldwide , of which around 100 are also distributed in Central Europe . Three subfamilies are distinguished within the leaf miners:

In Europe, the leaf miner family comprises over 230 species, the leaf and cone moth subfamily is the most species-rich subfamily with 138 species.

In Germany, known leaf miners include the maple moth ( Caloptilia rufipennella ), the azaleas Motte ( Caloptilia azaleella ), the oak bark leaf miner ( Spulerina simploniella ), the Lilac Motte ( Gracillaria syring ella ), the horse-chestnut leaf miner ( Cameraria ohridella ) and often at Book -to-find book leafminer ( Phyllonorycter maestingella ).

The often counted to the family of moths Thujaminiermotten ( Argyresthia thuiella ) and juniper leaf miner ( Argyresthia trifasciata ), however, belong to the family of ermine moth .

The following overview contains the genera and species represented in Central Europe within the three subfamilies:

True leaf miners (Gracillariinae)

Lithocolletinae

Phyllocnistinae

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Diseases and pests on ornamental trees ( Memento of the original from May 28, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Plant Protection Office Berlin, May 2006. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de
  2. ↑ Gracillariidae. Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on January 2, 2008 .
  3. ↑ Diagnosis database for woody plants ( memento of the original from February 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 23, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / lelf.brandenburg.de
  4. ^ Gracillariidae (leaf-bag moths, leaf miners and fold miners) in Central Europe. Lepiforum e. V .: Determination aid of the Lepiforum for the butterfly species found in Germany, Austria and Switzerland., Accessed on January 2, 2008 .

literature

  • Thomas Kaltenbach, Peter Victor Küppers: Small butterflies. Verlag J. Neudamm-Neudamm, Melsungen 1987, ISBN 3-7888-0510-2 .

Web links

Commons : Leaf miners (Gracillariidae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files