GRACILLARIIDAE: Gracillariinae ⁷

Macarostola miniella (Meyrick, 1880). F.L. 6 mm. Native. Locally common.

Habitat, seasonality and behaviour ⁸

Adults are on the wing from October through to April in North Island native forests. Occasionally flushed by day from forest vegetation, usually fly by night and come to light.

Life history ⁸

The larvae of all Gracillariidae start as leaf miners. Whilst the only known larval foodplant is swamp maire (Syzygium maire), which is rather uncommon it is likely there are other host plants, e.g. Syzgium smithii or (Lilly pilly, monkey apple). NZ naturalised 1982 from E. Australia, seeds/fruits dispersed by birds (Kereru).The larva first mines a leaf, later emerging to roll the edge of a leaf to feed within.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Saryu Mae, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Macarostola_miniella_246578649.jpg
2. (c) AucklandNaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Macarostola_miniella_(Jan_10,_2022).jpg
3. (c) Tony Steer, all rights reserved, uploaded by Tony Steer
4. (c) Stephen Thorpe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Stephen Thorpe
5. George Vernon Hudson , no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fig_8_MA_I437896_TePapa_Plate-XXXV-The-butterflies_full_(cropped).jpg
6. George Vernon Hudson , no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fig_9_MA_I437896_TePapa_Plate-XXXV-The-butterflies_full_(cropped).jpg
7. Adapted by Tony Steer from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macarostola_miniella
8. (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
• Lepiforum

iNaturalist NZ Map