Tag Archives: Lepidoptera

Known Unknown or Unknown Unknown?

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Charley Eiseman

This 6-mm moth is a typical representative of the genus Cremastobombycia (Gracillariidae). Larvae form “underside tentiform” mines on leaves of plants in the aster family (Asteraceae). The mine starts out as a flat blotch on the lower leaf surface, then becomes … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Asteraceae, Cremastobombycia, Gracillariidae, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, moth | 4 Comments

Another Progress Report (Goofing Off in the Desert)

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Charley Eiseman

Remember at the beginning of last year when I announced that I had finished making keys to the known leaf mines on every plant genus in the US and Canada? I noted that “this project can never really be finished, because … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Abronia, Acanthaceae, Acmaeodera, Acmaeodera vernalis, Andrenidae, Asteraceae, bee, beetle, blister beetle, Boraginaceae, brittlebush, Bucculatrix, Bucculatrix sphaeralceae, Buprestidae, butterfly, checkered beetle, checkerspot, Cleridae, Coleoptera, Crambidae, Cysteodemus armatus, desert chicory, Encelia, Encelia farinosa, Eremalche rotundifolia, Eupompha elegans, Eurybunus, Fabaceae, flower, globemallow, harvestman, Hesperapis, Hymenoptera, Justicia, Justicia californica, Lepidoptera, Loasaceae, lupine, Lupinus, Lytta, Lytta auriculata, Lytta magister, mallow, Malvaceae, Megandrena enceliae, Melittidae, Meloidae, Mentzelia involucrata, Microtia dymas, Mimulus, Mimulus bigelovii, mining bee, moth, Noctueliopsis aridalis, Nyctaginaceae, Nymphalidae, Opiliones, Perdita, Phacelia, Phasmida, Phrymaceae, Pyraloidea, Rafinesquia neomexicana, sand-verbena, sawfly, Sclerosomatidae, Sphaeralcea, Sphaeralcea ambigua, Tenthredinidae, Timema, Timematidae, tiny checkerspot, Trichodes ornatus, walkingstick | 12 Comments

How It All Started

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Charley Eiseman

Today is an anniversary of sorts. The first weekend of August 2007, I was up in Vermont to perform at the Champlain Valley Folk Festival with my band, PossumHaw, which had formed while I was in grad school in Burlington. Before … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Anacardiaceae, aspen, Betulaceae, Cameraria, Cameraria corylisella, Cameraria guttifinitella, Corylus, Corylus americana, Gracillariidae, hazelnut, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, moth, Phyllocnistis, Phyllocnistis populiella, poison ivy, Populus, Populus tremuloides, quaking aspen, Salicaceae, Toxicodendron, Toxicodendron radicans | 6 Comments

Cocoon Within a Cocoon Within a Cocoon

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Charley Eiseman

The diamondback moth (Plutellidae: Plutella xylostella) is a European species that is now found all across North America, the larvae feeding on various plants in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). Apparently it’s considered a pretty serious pest, but I’d take it … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Brassica, Brassica oleracea, Brassicaceae, broccoli, Campopleginae, cocoon, Cryptinae, Diadegma, diamondback moth, Hymenoptera, hyperparasitoid, Ichneumonidae, Isdromas, Isdromas lycaenae, larva, leaf mine, Lepidium, Lepidium virginicum, Lepidoptera, moth, parasitism, parasitoid, peppergrass, Plutella, Plutella xylostella, Plutellidae, pupa | 2 Comments

Hiding in Plain Sight

Posted on March 26, 2017 by Charley Eiseman

…would be a suitable title for any of the posts about tiny bugs that I regularly write here, I guess, but it seems especially appropriate in this case. The story begins in September 2012, when occasional BugGuide.net user Greg Dodge … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged chalcid, clover, Desmodium, Eulophidae, Fabaceae, Gracillariidae, Hemiptarsenus, Hymenoptera, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, moth, parasitism, parasitoid, Pnigalio, Pnigalio coloni, Porphyrosela, Porphyrosela desmodiella, Porphyrosela minuta, Sympiesis, Sympiesis sericeicornis, tick trefoil, Trifolium, Trifolium repens, wasp, white clover | Leave a comment

More Evening Primrose Moths

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Charley Eiseman

Two years ago I wrote about the striking pink and yellow moths I found resting on evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) flowers by my mailbox, and how I later found the caterpillars feeding on the young seedpods. That same summer, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Aristotelia, Aristotelia isopelta, cocoon, Epilobium, Epilobium ciliatum, evening primrose, Gelechiidae, larva, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, Mompha, Mompha argentimaculella, Mompha locupletella, moth, Oenothera, Oenothera biennis, willow-herb | 2 Comments

Quality Control

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Charley Eiseman

On June 22, I was doing botanical work in a shrub swamp in Southbridge, Massachusetts when I found this 5.5-mm larva on the underside of a highbush blueberry (Ericaceae: Vaccinium corymbosum) leaf: I find little tents like this from time … Continue reading →