Phyllocnistis saligna
Phyllocnistis saligna is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is known from almost all Europe (except Ireland and possibly also parts of the Balkan Peninsula), as well as India, Sri Lanka, La RĂ©union and South Africa.
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Phyllocnistis saligna | |
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Species: | P. saligna |
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The wingspan is about 7 mm. Adults are on wing in two generations, in July and from September to April.[2]
The larvae feed on Salix alba, Salix babylonica, Salix daphnoides, Salix fragilis, Salix lanata, Salix matsudana, Salix purpurea, Salix x sepulcralis, Salix triandra and Salix viminalis. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a long, epidermal corridor which is located on either the upper- or lower-surface. Mines are only found in terminal leaves of young shoots. The mine passes from one leaf to the other by way of the shoot epidermis. The frass is deposited in a broad central line. The corridor ends upon a leaf margin, where pupation takes place under a folded part of the margin, without an evident cocoon.[3]