Antispila cf viticordifoliella Clemens

Nieukerken, Erik J. van, Wagner, David L., Baldessari, Mario, Mazzon, Luca, Angeli, Gino, Girolami, Vicenzo, Duso, Carlo & Doorenweerd, Camiel, 2012, Antispila oinophylla new species (Lepidoptera, Heliozelidae), a new North American grapevine leafminer invading Italian vineyards: taxonomy, DNA barcodes and life cycle, ZooKeys 170, pp. 29-77 : 45-46

Antispila cf viticordifoliella Clemens Figs 37, 4157

Remarks.

Two females (Figs 37, 41), reared from Parthenocissus mines, match Chambers’ (1874a) description of Antispila viticordifoliella adults. Because the possibility exists that two species with similar externals, feeding respectively on Vitis and Parthenocissus , are involved here, we cannot decide whether the Parthenocissus miner is conspecific with viticordifoliella or not, before we have studied genitalia and/or DNA barcodes from specimens originating from both hostplants (to date we have only barcodes from Parthenocissus miners and no males from either form). Moreover, there is a deep split in the barcodes from Parthenocissus miners, here tentatively identified as Antispila cf viticordifoliella, one cluster from New York and Vermont, the other from Connecticut and Florida. We did not see differences in mine or larva between these clusters, and thus tentatively regard them as one species.

Biology.

Hostplant: Parthenocissus quinquefolia .

Leafmines

(Fig. 57). Egg often inserted on leaf margin, position often hard to find, rarely near midrib, mine without a gallery at the start, an elliptic elongate blotch mine, often running along or near leaf margin; frass sometimes grouped in a clump, more typically spread in an irregular broad line. Larva yellow with almost black head, cut-out ca 3.5-4 mm long. This mine was most frequently seen in thicker leaves borne from climbing shoots.

Distribution.

Canada: Ontario. USA: Connecticut, Florida, New York, Vermont.