Ectoedemia occultella, the small birch leafminer, is a moth of the family Nepticulidae. It has a Holarctic distribution. It is found in most of Europe, east through Russia (where it has been recorded from Murmansk, Karelia, Leningrad, Samara and Tatarstan and Sakhalin) to Japan. It is also present in North America. Mines very similar to that of Ectoedemia occultella have been found on Rosaceae species in Nepal and Japan and these may belong to this species.
| Ectoedemia occultella | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nepticulidae |
| Genus: | Ectoedemia |
| Species: | E. occultella
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| Binomial name | |
| Ectoedemia occultella (Linnaeus, 1767)
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| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 5–7 mm. The head is grey, the face whitish. Forewings are light grey irrorated with dark fuscous and with a very indistinct oblique whitish fascia before middle, usually partly or wholly obsolete; a small tornal spot and larger triangular spot on costa somewhat beyond it ochreous-white. Hindwings grey.[1] [2]
Adults are on wing from May to July.
The larvae feed on Betula ermani, Betula grossa, Betula humilis, Betula nana, Betula obscura, Betula pendula and Betula pubescens. It has also been recorded from Salix pentandra in Finland. They mine the leaves of their host plant.[3]
References
edit- ^ Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Keys and description
- ^ lepiforum.de includes images This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ van Nieukerken, E. J. (1985): A taxonomic revision of the Western Palaearctic species of the subgenera Zimmermannia Hering and Ectoedemia Busck s. str. (Lepidoptera, Nepticulidae), with nothes on their phylogeny. Tijdschrift voor entomologie 128: 1-164.pdf
External links
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Media related to Ectoedemia occultella at Wikimedia Commons
- Plant Parasites of Europe
- Nepticulidae from the Volga and Ural region
- Ectoedemia occultella at UKMoths
- Swedish moths
- Ectoedemia occultella images at Consortium for the Barcode of Life
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