SHADE TREE INSECTS 



35 



White Blotch Oak Leaf Miner 



a. Mine in leaf. 



b. Young caterpillar. 



c. Full-grown caterpillar, flat form. 



f. Full-grown caterpillar, round form. Top view. 



g. Full-grown caterpillar, round form. Bottom view, 

 m. Pupa. 



q. Cocoon. 

 Q. Adult moth. 

 Courtesy, Bur. Ent. and Plant Quarantine, U. S. Dept. .'^gr. 



White Blotch Oak Leaf Miner 



Lithocolletis hamadryadella Clemens 



Several species of leaf-mining insects attack the foliage of oak. One of the most 

 prominent is the white blotch oak leaf miner which is commonly found throughout 

 the Atlantic States. 



Each grub, or tiny caterpillar, makes a whitish, blotch-like mine in the upper 

 surface of a leaf. Many grubs may attack a single leaf. There are several genera- 

 tions a year, five having been reported in the vicinity of Washington, D. C, but 

 there are probably fewer farther north. Pupation takes place in the leaf mine. 

 The grubs pass the winter in the leaves on the ground. 



Description. The adult is a tiny moth with a wingspread of about J^ inch. 

 The forewings are white crossed with three broad, irregular, bronze bands, each 

 of which is bordered with black on the inner side. The hind wings are silvery with 

 a broad fringe of hairs. 



The body of the young grub is flat, broad in front, and tapering to a point in 

 the rear. The full-grown grub is cylindrical and about 1/5 inch long. 



The pupa is dark brown and has a toothed crest on its head. It is covered by a 

 small, round, almost transparent sheet of white silk which is stretched over the 

 floor of the leaf mine. 



' Control. It is recommended that the fallen leaves containing the overwinter- 

 ing grubs be raked up and burned in late fall or before the moths emerge in early 

 spring. 



Comstock, J. H. Introduction to Entomology, pp. 618-619. 1933. 

 Felt, E. P. N. Y. State Mus. Mem. 8(2) :532-533. 1906. 



