Stigmella slingerlandella
Plum Leaf Miner (Stigmella slingerlandella) is a moth of the family Nepticulidae. It is found in North America from Ontario, New York, Michigan and Ohio, possibly south to Florida.
| Stigmella slingerlandella | |
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| Genus: | Stigmella |
| Species: | S. slingerlandella |
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| Stigmella slingerlandella (Kearfott, 1908) | |
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The wingspan is 3.5–5 mm.
The larvae feed on Prunus species, including Prunus nigra and Prunus serotina species. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The larva first eats a narrow linear mine, then widens the mine so as to produce an irregular, more or less ovate blotch. Three to twelve mines are often found on a single leaf. When full grown the larva leaves the mine through a cut in the upper surface of the leaf, falls to the ground, and there constructs a small flattened brownish cocoon in cracks in the soil, under loose stones, or between the base of the tree and the surrounding soil.
External links
- Nepticulidae of North America
- A taxonomic revision of the North American species of Stigmella (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae)