Phyllonorycter tiliacella (Chambers, 1871)

Eiseman, Charles S. & Davis, Donald R., 2020, Wrong side of the leaf: assigning some Lithocolletinae species (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) to their proper genera, Zootaxa 4751 (2), pp. 201-237 : 229-231

Phyllonorycter tiliacella (Chambers, 1871)

( Figs. 68–70 )

L.[ithocolletis] tiliacella Chambers 1871a: 56 . Phyllonorycter tiliacella Chambers )— Davis 1983: 10.

Leaf mine. Chambers (1871a) described the characteristic upper-surface mine of this species ( Figs. 68–69 ) as follows: “Small, circular or ovate, brownish, mottled with whitish; not visible underneath until the lower cuticle dies.” Braun (1908) characterized it as “white, densely speckled with dark brown”, which is in agreement with our observations.

Host. Malvaceae : Tilia americana L.

Distribution. Canada: ON, QC; USA: CT, IL, KY, MA, ME, MI, NH, NY, VT.

Review. Chambers (1871a) reared this species from Tilia americana in Kentucky. Braun (1908) stated that it is common throughout the Atlantic states. Specific records include New York ( Forbes 1925), Ontario ( Yoshimoto 1977), Maine and New Hampshire ( Brower 1984), Illinois ( Godfrey et al. 1987), Connecticut ( Maier & Davis 1989), Vermont ( Grehan et al. 1995), and Quebec ( Handfield 1997). CSE has found leaf mines in Massachusetts (Montague, Franklin Co.), and they have been photographed in Michigan (Orchard Lake, Oakland Co.; Megachile 2019).

Comments. Godfrey et al. (1987) listed adult collection dates in Illinois ranging from 6 May to 1 July. Maier & Davis (1989) reared adults from mines collected on 9 July and 15 September and stated that their evidence indicated two generations per year. A leaf mine CSE collected in Quebec on 8 July 2018 yielded an adult three days later ( Fig. 70 ).

Figures

FIGURES 68–70. Phyllonorycter tiliacella. 68: Occupied leaf mine on Tilia americana; 69: Vacated mine with pupal exuviae protruding at right; 70: Reared adult.