Kingdom Animalia Family Bedelliidae Scientific name Bedellia somnulentella Rank Species | Class Insecta Genus Bedellia Phylum Arthropoda Order Butterflies and moths | |
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Similar Bedelliidae, Butterflies and moths, Bucculatrix ulmella, Cosmopterix, Bucculatrix frangutella | ||
Bedellia somnulentella, the sweet potato leaf miner, is a moth in the Bedelliidae family. It has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution and has been recorded from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, southern Kazakhstan, Kirgizia, Uzbekistan, nearly all of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Japan, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Oceania.
The wingspan is 8–10 mm.
The larvae feed on Calystegia pubescens, Calystegia sepium, Convolvulus althaeoides, Convolvulus arvensis, Convolvulus siculus, Convolvulus tricolour, Ipomoea batatas and Ipomoea purpurea. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a narrow tortuous corridor with a central frass line, that often cuts off part of the leaf. Later, larvae leave the mine and begin to make a series of full depth fleck mines. Pupation takes place outside the leaf. The pupa is attached to a leaf without a cocoon.
