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Do you know your plants?
For my Leafminers of North America project, I periodically need help identifying hostplants I find in my travels. You can peruse photos of them at iNaturalist. Thanks!
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Meta
Tag Archives: Stigmella
A wasp has its day
If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you know that a lot of my attempts to rear insect larvae to adults end up producing parasitoid wasps. You have probably also heard me lament from time to time … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Adelius, Adelius coloradensis, Adelius floridensis, Braconidae, cocoon, Fomoria, Formoria hypericella, Frangula, Frangula purshiana, Hymenoptera, Hypericaceae, Hypericum, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, moth, Nepticulidae, new species, parasitism, parasitoid, Rhamnaceae, Stigmella, wasp
13 Comments
Birch Munchers, Large and Small
The woods behind our house were logged not long before we moved here, and as a result there are lots of black birch (Betula lenta) saplings around. Yesterday on my morning walk I spotted this amazing caterpillar eagerly devouring the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Betula, Betula lenta, Betulaceae, birch, black birch, casebearer, caterpillar, cecropia moth, Coleophora, Hyalophora, Hyalophora cecropia, larva, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, moth, Nepticulidae, Saturniidae, Stigmella
13 Comments
Green Islands (Part 2), and Another Mystery Moth
(Note: For those who have already read yesterday’s post, I’ve added a little more information at the end after hearing back today from Jerry Powell, who described the genus Areniscythris in 1976.) Last January I wrote about the “green islands” … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged aspen, Ectoedemia, Ectoedemia agryropeza, green island, larva, leaf mine, moth, Nepticulidae, new species, Populus, Populus tremuloides, quaking aspen, Salicaceae, Salix, Salix pentandra, Stigmella, willow
6 Comments
Tiny Bugs from Tiny Leaves
I’ve now finished uploading plant photos from last fall’s road trip through the western states. If you’d like to help with identifying them, you can see them all organized by location here. Thanks to those who have helped out already; … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged buckthorn, California, Chrysocharis, Chrysocharis wahli, cocoon, Eulophidae, larva, leaf mine, moth, Nepticulidae, parasitism, parasitoid, Rhamnaceae, Rhamnus, Rhamnus crocea, Stigmella, wasp
12 Comments
Dill Moths (and others)
On Tuesday I noticed webbing at the tops of some dill plants in the garden, with moth pupae suspended within. Most webs had a single pupa, but this one had three: Investigating further, I saw that the developing seeds on … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Acer, Acer saccharum, American chestnut, Apiaceae, Betula, Betula populifolia, birch, Cameraria, Castanea dentata, chestnut oak, Depressaria depressana, dill, Elachista, Elachistidae, Elymus, Elymus repens, Erebidae, evening primrose, Gracillariidae, gray birch, Haploa, Haploa clymene, leaf mine, maple, Mompha, moth, Nepticulidae, oak, Oenothera, Oenothera pilosella, Parornix, parsley family, Phyllonorycter, pin oak, pupa, quackgrass, Quercus, Quercus palustris, Quercus prinus, Quercus rubra, red oak, Stigmella, sugar maple, web
8 Comments
Adapting to New Menu Options
Exotic plants–those that have been introduced to new habitats by humans in recent history–tend to be conspicuously free of signs of feeding by insects. Most plant-feeding insects are highly host-specific, and the lack of insect herbivores keeping them in check … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged buckthorn, common buckthorn, introduced species, leaf mine, moth, Nepticulidae, Rhamnaceae, Rhamnus cathartica, Stigmella, Stigmella rhamnicola
8 Comments
Supplejack Leafminers
The internet is a wonderful thing. Within minutes of my last post, James C. Trager of Missouri (on Facebook) and Cheryl Lavers of Arkansas (on this blog) had identified my mystery plant as Berchemia scandens, known as Alabama supplejack or Rattan … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Berchemia scandens, buckthorn, larva, leaf mine, moth, Nepticulidae, new species, Rattan vine, Rhamnaceae, Stigmella, supplejack
2 Comments
A Stylish Little Wasp
I’ve now made it up to the end of March in my photo sorting, and just came across some photos I took of something that emerged from a leaf mine collected last November. This is the mine of a Stigmella species (Nepticulidae) … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Cirrospilus, Eulophidae, leaf mine, moth, Nepticulidae, oak, parasitoid, Quercus, Quercus rubra, red oak, Stigmella, wasp, Zagrammosoma
7 Comments
The Tiniest Moths
I first mentioned the moth family Nepticulidae a couple of months ago when musing about the feathery wings of the tiniest insects. I included this photo, which shows the first adult nepticulid I ever encountered–this past July, on my bedroom … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Aceria nyssae, cocoon, Ectoedemia, Ectoedemia nyssaefoliella, Eriophyidae, gall, Galumnidae, larva, leaf mine, mite, moth, Nepticulidae, Nyssa sylvatica, oribatid, Stigmella, tupelo
8 Comments
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