Ectoedemia heckfordi

Ectoedemia heckfordi is a moth of the family Nepticulidae. It is only known from Devon in Great Britain, having been discovered in 2004 at the National Trust's Hembury Woods by amateur naturalist Bob Heckford, for whom it is named.[1]

Ectoedemia heckfordi
male and male hindwing
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Nepticulidae
Genus:
Ectoedemia
Species:
E. heckfordi
Binomial name
Ectoedemia heckfordi
van Nieukerken, A. & Z. Lastuvka, 2009

The wingspan is 4.8–6.2 mm. Adults are on wing from April to May. There is one generation per year.

The bright green larvae feed on oaks, Quercus petraea and Quercus robur. They mine the leaves of their host plant.[1] The mine consists of a short, highly contorted gallery, occupying a small space only, filled with black frass, later broken. The mine suddenly enlarges into an elongated blotch, with frass concentrated in two lines along the edges. The mines usually occur on saplings, seedlings or low growth and in shade.[1]

In April 2010, Heckford presented the type specimen to the Natural History Museum in London.[1]

  • Male genitalia
  • Male genitalia
  • Female genitalia
  • Female genitalia
  • Female terminal abdominal segment
  • Final instar larva on Quercus petraea
  • Leafmine

References
  1. Walker, Matt (2010-04-28). "New British moth found in Hembury Woods is world first". BBC Earth News. Retrieved 28 April 2010.


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