Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Gracillariidae Scientific name Macarostola pontificalis | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Macarostola Rank Species | |
Macarostola pontificalis is a moth of the Gracillariidae family. It is known from the Austral Islands (Rapa and Rurutu) of French Polynesia.
The larvae feed on Metrosideros collina. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a tortuous serpentine mine, ending in a blotch mine at one edge of the leaf, and filled with frass. Later, forming a cone.
References
Macarostola pontificalis Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA