Stigmella catharticella is a moth of the family Nepticulidae. It is found in from Fennoscandia to the Pyrenees, Italy and Bulgaria, and from Ireland to Russia.
| Stigmella catharticella | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nepticulidae |
| Genus: | Stigmella |
| Species: | S. catharticella
|
| Binomial name | |
| Stigmella catharticella (Stainton, 1853)
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The wingspan is 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in). The head is ferruginous-orange, collar whitish. Antennal eyecaps whitish. Posterior tarsi whitish, spotted with dark fuscous. Forewings are dark fuscous, faintly purple -tinged ; a roundish white tornal spot; outer half of cilia white. Hindwings grey.[1] Adults are on wing from May to June and again from July to September.
The larvae feed on Rhamnus catharticus. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a full depth corridor, beginning at an under-surface egg shell. The corridor makes several sharp turns, so much so that the loops almost touch. The last section of the corridor is significantly wider. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.
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
External links edit
- Fauna Europaea
- bladmineerders.nl Archived 2012-03-12 at the Wayback Machine
- Swedish moths
- Norfolk moths
- Stigmella catharticella images at Consortium for the Barcode of Life
 | This article on a moth of the Stigmella genus is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |