Acrocercops panacitorsens facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Acrocercops panacitorsens |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
 |
|
| North Island form | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: |
Gracillariidae
|
| Genus: |
Acrocercops
|
| Species: |
A. panacitorsens
|
| Binomial name | |
| Acrocercops panacitorsens (Watt, 1920)
|
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
Acrocercops panacitorsens is a tiny moth that belongs to the Gracillariidae family. You can find this special moth in New Zealand.
Meet the Acrocercops panacitorsens Moth
The Acrocercops panacitorsens moth is quite small. Its wingspan is usually about 9 millimeters (mm). That's less than half an inch!
There's also a slightly different version of this moth. This variety lives on the North Island of New Zealand. It is a bit smaller, with a wingspan of about 8 mm.
Life as a Leaf Miner
The young moths, called larvae, are very interesting. They feed on specific plants like Nothopanax arboreum, Nothopanax sinclairii, and other Panax species.
These larvae are known as leaf miners. This means they live inside the leaves of their host plants. They create tunnels or "mines" as they eat the leaf tissue.
The mine they make is always on the underside of the leaf. It starts as a simple, winding tunnel. This tunnel twists and turns a lot. It mostly follows the long direction of the leaf.
As the larva grows, the tunnel gets wider. It can even break down the walls between earlier parts of the tunnel. This makes the whole mine look like a large blotch. This blotch can cover about half of the leaf's surface!
The main vein in the middle of the leaf usually acts as a barrier. However, the larva can cross it where the vein is thinner.
When the mine is new, it looks white. It has a thin brown line in the middle. This line is made of frass, which is the larva's waste. The rest of the mine area is a slightly lighter green than the healthy parts of the leaf.
