NEPTICULIDAE ³

Stigmella hoheriae Donner & Wilkinson, 1989. Endemic.

Habitat, seasonality and behaviour ⁴

It can be found in native forest and forest margins. Leaf mines can be found from April to October, adults mainly from August to November. The adults are rarely seen as they usually fly by day and are tiny so are inconspicuous in flight, but they can sometimes be tapped out of their host plants on warm humid days.

Life history ⁴

The eggs are laid on the surface of a young expanding lacebark (Hoheria) leaf and the larva tunnels into the leaf, making a conspicuous white translucent leaf-mine, leaving a thin blackish trail of frass behind it. When full fed, it leaves the leaf through a semicircular slit and drops to the ground to pupate in a fluffy white cocoon.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Stephen Thorpe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Stephen Thorpe
2. (c) Stephen Thorpe, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Stephen Thorpe
3. Adapted by Tony Steer from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmella_hoheriae
4. (c) Tony Steer, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNaturalist NZ taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CUIC Insect Images
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants

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