Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Bucculatricidae Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Bucculatrix | |
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Scientific name Bucculatrix canadensisella Similar Bucculatrix ainsliella, Bucculatrix albertiella, Bucculatricidae | ||
The birch skeletonizer (Bucculatrix canadensisella) is a moth of the Bucculatricidae family. It is found in Canada, where it has been recorded from New Brunswick to British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In the United States, it has been recorded from New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Colorado.
The wingspan is 7-8.5 mm. The base of the wing is white, this white colour sometimes spreading outwardly below the fold. The ground colour of the forewings is dark brown, reddish brown, or sometimes paler fuscous and then more or less irrorated. The hindwings are grey. Adults have been recorded on wing from April to September. Adults are on wing between June and July depending on the location.
The larvae feed on Betula species, including Betula nigra, Betula lutea and Betula occidentalis. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a narrow and contorted linear mine. Older larvae live freely, skeletonizing the leaves, but leaving the upper epidermis intact.