Antispila iviella

Antispila iviella is a moth of the family Heliozelidae. It was described by Kuroko in 1961. It is found in Japan (Yakushima).

Antispila iviella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Heliozelidae
Genus:	Antispila
Species:	A. iviella
Binomial name
Antispila iviella Kuroko, 1961

The wingspan is 5–6 mm. The forewings are dark bronzy-fuscous with brassy reflections, becoming purplish reflections towards the apex and termen. The basal area is shining dark leaden and the markings are rather raised and silvery-metallic tinged with faint golden. The hindwings are pale fuscous with feeble lusters.[1] Adults appear in July.

The larvae feed on Parthenocissus tricuspidata. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a full depth linear-blotch. The larva first makes a whitish-brown linear mine, which later becomes an irregular wavy gallery, sometimes in the form of a spiral at the beginning. After continuing to feed in this linear track for some distance, the mine develops rather abruptly into a pale brown irregular blotch. The frass is blackish brown and is deposited in a line along the center of the linear mine. In the blotch mine, it is scattered in a large pale brown patch in the middle of the mine. Larvae have been recorded at the end of October. Full-grown larvae cut out a case in which they hibernate.

References

1. Kuroko, Hiroshi, 1961: The genus Antispila from Japan, with descriptions of seven new species (Lepidoptera: Heliozelidae). Esakia 3: 11-24. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2012-05-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)