Parornix torquillella

Parornix torquillella is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is known from all of Europe, except Spain and parts of the Balkan Peninsula.

Sloe leaf with mine of a young larva (3b); and sloe leaves screwed up by adult larvae (3b*)

Larva

Parornix torquillella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Infraorder:	Heteroneura
Family:	Gracillariidae
Genus:	Parornix
Species:	P. torquillella
Binomial name
Parornix torquillella (Zeller, 1850)[1]
Synonyms
Ornix torquillella Zeller, 1850 Deltaornix torquillella

The wingspan is 9–13 mm.[2] The head is pale ochreous mixed with fuscous. Palpi white. Forewings are rather dark fuscous, purplish -tinged, towards dorsum and costa more blackish numerous costal streaks, a spot in disc posteriorly, and two or three dorsal spots white ; a black apical dot, strongly white edged anteriorly ; cilia with three entire dark fuscous lines. Hind wings are grey.The larva is pale yellow -green ; dorsal line dark green or reddish; head pale yellow; segment 2 with four black spots. [3]

The larvae feed on Prunus cerasus, Prunus domestica, Prunus insititia, Prunus maritima and Prunus spinosa. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a lower-surface epidermal gallery that widens into a blotch. In the end, it becomes a small, only weakly inflated tentiform mine. The lower epidermis is whitish, unfolded, and rather transparent. The leaf tissue is eaten up to the upper epidermis. The frass is deposited in a corner of the mine. In the end, the larva leaves the mine and lives freely under a leaf tip or margin that has been folded downwards, or in a leaf that is rolled into a pod.[4]

References

1. Fauna Europaea
2. microlepidoptera.nl Archived 2012-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
3. 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
4. bladmineerders.nl