Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Nepticulidae Scientific name Enteucha acetosae | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Enteucha Rank Species | |
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Similar Stigmella lemniscella, Stigmella splendidissimella, Stigmella alnetella, Stigmella betulicola, Stigmella poterii | ||
Enteucha acetosae, the pygmy sorrel moth, is a moth of the Nepticulidae family. It is found from Sweden to the Pyrenees, Alps and Serbia and from Ireland to Romania.
The wingspan is 3–4 mm. There are two to three generations in western and central Europe
The larvae feed on Rumex acetosa, Rumex alpestris and Rumex acetosella. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a narrow, hardly widening corridor that makes about five whole or half circles closely around the egg. The leaf tissue around the mine is intensely reddened. There are often several mines in a single leaf. The frass is deposited in a narrow central line. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.
References
Enteucha acetosae Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA