Stigmella desperatella is a moth of the family Nepticulidae. It is found from Estonia to the Pyrenees, Italy and Bulgaria, and from Great Britain to Ukraine.
| Stigmella desperatella | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nepticulidae |
| Genus: | Stigmella |
| Species: | S. desperatella
|
| Binomial name | |
| Stigmella desperatella (Frey, 1856)
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The wingspan is 4–5 mm. Adults are on wing in June.
The larvae feed on Malus baccata, Malus domestica, Malus sylvestris and Pyrus communis. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a narrow corridor, often following a vein or the leaf margin. Later sections are much wider and contorted, often forming a secondary blotch. The frass is concentrated in a narrow central line. There may be several mines in a single leaf.
External links edit
- Fauna Europaea
- bladmineerders.nl Archived 2012-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
 | This article on a moth of the Stigmella genus is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |