Acrolepiopsis vesperella
| Acrolepiopsis vesperella | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Acrolepiidae |
| Genus: | Acrolepiopsis |
| Species: | A. vesperella |
| Binomial name | |
| Acrolepiopsis vesperella (Zeller, 1850) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Acrolepiopsis vesperella is a moth of the Acrolepiidae family. It is found in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, Greece and on the Canary Islands.[1]
The larvae feed on Smilax aspera, Smilax canariensis, Tamus communis and Tamus edulis. They mine the leaves of their host plant. On Smilax species, young larvae make a short corridor which is almost completely filled with frass. Older larvae live freely at the leaf underside, under a frass-covered web. On Tamus species, larvae live in a transparent full-depth mine without frass. The mine may have the form of a corridor, blotch or star. Pupation always occurs in a net-like cocoon.[2] The larvae have a pale yellowish green body and head. They can be found in March.