Leaf-miner
Guides
Choristoneura houstonana
Juniper Budworm Moth
Choristoneura houstonana is a tortricid moth commonly known as the Juniper Budworm Moth. It is a specialist pest of Juniperus (juniper) species. The species has a single generation per year, with eggs laid in July and larvae that construct shelters by rolling or webbing juniper leaves together. It is closely related to other Choristoneura species including the spruce budworm, but differs in host specificity and geographic distribution.
Chrysaster ostensackenella
A small leaf-mining moth in the family Gracillariidae, native to eastern North America and recently established as an invasive pest in East Asia, Europe, and Russia. Adults have a wingspan of approximately 4–5 mm. Larvae feed exclusively on Robinia species, creating distinctive blotch mines on leaves. The species has spread rapidly through human-mediated transport of host plants and is expected to expand further in regions where black locust is planted.
Chrysoesthia drurella
Spinach moth
Chrysoesthia drurella is a small gelechiid moth with a wingspan of 7–9 mm. It is known as the spinach moth due to its larval association with Chenopodium and Atriplex host plants. The species has a broad distribution across Europe, Russia, and North America, and is frequently encountered in agricultural settings. It produces two generations annually, with adults active in spring and late summer.
Chrysoesthia lingulacella
silver-banded moth
Chrysoesthia lingulacella, commonly known as the silver-banded moth, is a gelechiid moth described by James Brackenridge Clemens in 1860. It is recognized by its distinctive golden-yellow forewings with complex silvery and golden-brown markings. The larvae are leaf miners that feed specifically on Chenopodium album.
Chrysoesthia sexguttella
Orache Leafminer Moth
Chrysoesthia sexguttella is a small gelechiid moth known as the orache leafminer moth. Adults are active in two generations per year, flying in spring (May–June) and late summer (August–September). The larvae are specialized leaf miners that feed internally on leaves of Chenopodium, Atriplex, and related plants in Amaranthaceae, creating distinctive contorted gallery mines. The species is widespread across Europe and Asia, with introduced populations in northeastern North America.
Cnephasia longana
Long-winged Shade, Omnivorous Leaftier Moth, Strawberry Fruitworm
Cnephasia longana is a small tortricid moth native to western Europe and introduced to western North America. Adults show strong sexual dimorphism in wing coloration. The species is notable for its broad larval diet spanning multiple plant families and its status as a pest of cereal crops. First-instar larvae overwinter in bark crevices before resuming feeding in spring.
Coelopoeta
Coelopoeta is a genus of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea, native to western North America. The genus has undergone repeated taxonomic revision, having been placed in Elachistidae, Oecophoridae, and currently in the subfamily Coelopoetinae within Pterolonchidae. It contains three described species, two from California and one from the Yukon. The genus was established as monotypic in 1907 and remained so until 1995, when two additional species were described.
Coleophora badiipennella
Pale Elm Case-bearer
Coleophora badiipennella is a small case-bearing moth in the family Coleophoridae, first described by Duponchel in 1843. It is widely distributed across Europe and has been introduced to North America. The species is associated with several deciduous tree genera, particularly elms. Adults are active in early summer.
Coleophora elaeagnisella
Speckled Casebearer Moth
A small casebearer moth (family Coleophoridae) known for its distinctive larval case and specialized feeding on Elaeagnaceae plants. The species is restricted to northern North America, where it has been documented from the Great Lakes region northward into Canada. Larvae construct pistol-shaped portable cases from silk and plant material.
Coleophora ostryae
Coleophora ostryae is a small case-bearing moth in the family Coleophoridae. It is found in eastern North America, with records from Maryland and Ontario. The larvae construct distinctive spatulate leaf cases and feed on the foliage of several hardwood tree genera.
Coleophora querciella
Coleophora querciella is a case-bearing moth in the family Coleophoridae, first described by Clemens in 1861. The larvae construct portable cases from silk and plant material while feeding on leaves of various deciduous trees. It occurs in North America with documented records from Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Canada.
Coleophora sacramenta
Coleophora sacramenta is a case-bearing moth in the family Coleophoridae, described by Heinrich in 1914. It occurs in the western United States, particularly California. The species is notable for its distinctive pistol-shaped larval case and its association with diverse host plants across multiple genera.
Coleophora serratella
Cigar Casebearer Moth, Birch-Alder Casebearer
A small case-bearing moth with a wingspan of 11–14 mm. Adults are active in June and are difficult to identify without dissection and microscopic examination of genitalia. Larvae feed on birch, alder, and other woody plants, constructing portable cases from silk and plant material. The species occurs across Europe (except the Balkan Peninsula), Japan (Hokkaido), and North America.
Coleophora tiliaefoliella
A case-bearing moth in the family Coleophoridae. Larvae construct distinctive pistol-shaped cases from silk and plant material. The species is associated with Tilia (basswood/linden) host plants across parts of eastern North America.
Coleotechnites occidentis
Coleotechnites occidentis is a small gelechiid moth described by Freeman in 1965. The species is known from western North America, with records from British Columbia, Canada. Adults have a wingspan of 9–11 mm. Larvae are leaf and stem miners that feed on Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum).
Coptodisca arbutiella
madrone shield bearer
Coptodisca arbutiella, commonly known as the madrone shield bearer, is a small moth in the family Heliozelidae. It was first described by August Busck in 1904. The species is restricted to western North America and is tightly associated with Arbutus host plants. Its larvae are leaf miners that produce distinctive blotch-like mines.
Coptodisca diospyriella
Coptodisca diospyriella is a small moth in the family Heliozelidae, described by Vactor Tousey Chambers in 1874. The species is known for its specialized leaf-mining larvae that feed on Diospyros species. It occurs in eastern North America.
Coptodisca kalmiella
Coptodisca kalmiella is a small moth in the family Heliozelidae, described from New Jersey in 1921. The species is notable for its specialized leaf-mining larvae that feed exclusively on Kalmia angustifolia. Its life cycle includes a distinctive behavior where larvae construct portable oval cases from leaf tissue and drop to the ground to pupate.
Coptodisca lucifluella
walnut shield bearer
Coptodisca lucifluella is a small leaf-mining moth in the family Heliozelidae, native to eastern North America and invasive in Europe since 2010. Larvae create distinctive blotch-shaped mines on walnut and hickory foliage, then construct oval silk-attached cases for pupation. The species has undergone a documented host shift in Europe, expanding from its native specialization on Carya (pecan) to primarily exploiting Juglans regia (common walnut) and occasionally other Juglandaceae. It completes 3–4 generations annually in Italy, with autumn generations producing substantially more mines than spring generations.
Coptodisca matheri
A minute moth in the family Heliozelidae, described from Mississippi in 1974. Adults have strikingly bicolored forewings with silvery white bases and pale yellow tips. The larvae are leaf miners on sparkleberry (Vaccinium arboreum), creating distinctive serpentine mines that widen into blotches.
Coptodisca negligens
Coptodisca negligens is a minute leaf-mining moth described by Annette Frances Braun in 1920. Adults are active in late June to mid-July and possess distinctive metallic forewings with orange-yellow tips. The larvae are specialized feeders on cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon), mining between leaf layers and occasionally reaching pest status in cultivated bogs.
Coptodisca ostryaefoliella
Coptodisca ostryaefoliella is a small moth in the family Heliozelidae, described by James Brackenridge Clemens in 1861. It belongs to a genus whose larvae are leaf miners, creating distinctive blotch mines on host plant foliage. The species is found in North America, with records from Ohio and surrounding regions.
Coptodisca powellella
Coptodisca powellella is a small moth in the family Heliozelidae, described by Paul A. Opler in 1971. It is endemic to California and is associated with coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia). The larvae are leaf miners, creating distinctive feeding patterns within the leaves of their host plant.
Coptodisca saliciella
Coptodisca saliciella is a small moth in the family Heliozelidae, described by James Brackenridge Clemens in 1861. The species is native to North America, with confirmed records from California and Ohio. Larvae are leaf miners that feed on willow species (Salix), specifically documented on Salix lasiolepis.
Coptodisca sp. (Conocarpus erectus)
An undescribed species of Coptodisca (family Heliozelidae) that develops as a leaf miner on Conocarpus erectus (button mangrove). The species remains formally unnamed but has been documented from field collections. Heliozelid moths in this genus are characteristically small, with larvae that create distinctive blotch or serpentine mines in host leaves. This species represents part of the poorly known Neotropical heliozelid fauna associated with coastal mangrove vegetation.
Coptodisca splendoriferella
resplendent shield bearer
Coptodisca splendoriferella, known as the resplendent shield bearer, is a small moth in the family Heliozelidae. It was described by James Brackenridge Clemens in 1860. The species occurs in eastern and western North America.
Coptodisca undescribed-species-on-morella
An undescribed species of shield-bearer moth in the family Heliozelidae, known from larvae mining leaves of Morella species (bayberries). The genus Coptodisca contains small moths whose larvae are leaf miners, creating distinctive disc-shaped or blotch mines on host plants. This species has been documented but not formally described in scientific literature.
Coptotriche
A genus of trumpet leaf-miner moths in the family Tischeriidae, described by Walsingham in 1890. Species in this genus are stenophagous leaf miners with larvae that feed internally within leaves, creating distinctive blotch or trumpet-shaped mines. The genus has been documented across multiple continents including the Neotropics, South America, Madagascar, and East Asia, with host-plant associations spanning several plant families including Sapindaceae, Combretaceae, Asteraceae, Nyssaceae, Staphyleaceae, Symplocaceae, and Theaceae.
Coptotriche aenea
Blackberry Leafminer Moth
Coptotriche aenea is a small moth in the family Tischeriidae, commonly known as the Blackberry Leafminer Moth. The species is known for its larval habit of mining leaves of Rubus species, particularly blackberries. It is widely distributed across eastern and central North America, with records from Canada through the eastern United States to Texas and Oklahoma.
Coptotriche agrimoniella
Coptotriche agrimoniella is a species of moth in the family Tischeriidae, described by Braun in 1972. The species is known from the eastern United States, where its larvae create leaf mines on two species of Agrimonia (A. parviflora and A. rostellata). As a member of Tischeriidae, it belongs to a small family of moths whose larvae are specialized leaf miners.
Coptotriche badiiella
Coptotriche badiiella is a small moth in the family Tischeriidae, known for its leaf-mining larvae that create distinctive blotch mines on oak leaves. The species is widely distributed across eastern North America, from Ontario south to Louisiana. Larval feeding is restricted to Quercus species, particularly white oak (Quercus alba) and pin oak (Quercus palustris).
Coptotriche castaneaeella
Chestnut Blotchminer Moth
A small moth in the family Tischeriidae, described in 1875. The larvae are leaf miners on multiple oak species, creating distinctive trumpet-shaped mines. Recorded from six US states in the eastern and midwestern regions.
Coptotriche citrinipennella
A small leaf-mining moth in the family Tischeriidae, first described from North America in 1859. The species is notable for its broad host range across both chestnut (Castanea) and oak (Quercus) genera. Larvae create distinctive mines in leaves of their host plants. It occurs across eastern North America from Canada to the southern United States.
Coptotriche consanguinea
Coptotriche consanguinea is a leaf-mining moth in the family Tischeriidae, described by Annette Frances Braun in 1972. It is known only from California, where its larvae create mines in the leaves of several oak species (Quercus). The species is one of relatively few documented members of its genus in western North America.
Coptotriche malifoliella
Appleleaf Trumpet Miner
A small moth in the family Tischeriidae known for its distinctive larval leaf-mining behavior on apple and hawthorn. The species was described from North America in 1860 and is recognized by the common name Appleleaf Trumpet Miner, referring to the trumpet-shaped mines created by larvae.
Coptotriche mediostriata
Coptotriche mediostriata is a species of moth in the family Tischeriidae, first described by Braun in 1927. The species is known from a limited number of observations across the western United States. Tischeriidae moths are commonly known as trumpet leaf miner moths, with larvae that create distinctive mines in leaves.
Coptotriche purinosella
Coptotriche purinosella is a small moth in the family Tischeriidae, described in 1875. Its larvae are leaf miners that feed on several oak species (Quercus). The species is known from scattered localities in the eastern and central United States.
Coptotriche zelleriella
Coptotriche zelleriella is a small moth in the family Tischeriidae, described by James Brackenridge Clemens in 1859. The species occurs across eastern North America, from Ontario and Quebec south to Florida and west to Texas and Missouri. Its larvae are leaf miners that feed exclusively on white oak group (Quercus sect. Quercus) species.
Cosmopterix
cosmet moths
Cosmopterix is a large genus of small moths in the family Cosmopterigidae, characterized by narrow lanceolate forewings with distinctive yellow or orange transverse fasciae bordered by metallic silver or golden tubercular scales. The genus is globally distributed with particularly high diversity in tropical and subtropical regions, including 77 recognized species in continental Sub-Saharan Africa alone. Larvae are leaf miners on diverse herbaceous plants including grasses, bamboos, and members of Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and other families.
Cosmopterix attenuatella
Cosmopterix attenuatella is a small moth in the family Cosmopterigidae, first described by Francis Walker in 1864. It exhibits an exceptionally broad geographic distribution spanning tropical and subtropical regions across both the Old and New World. The species is notable for its leaf-mining larvae that feed on grasses and sedges. Adults are diminutive, with a wingspan of approximately 9 mm.
Cosmopterix callichalca
Cosmopterix callichalca is a small moth in the family Cosmopterigidae with a forewing length of 3.1–5.7 mm. It is native to the Americas, with records from Argentina, Brazil, and the southern and midwestern United States. The larvae are leaf miners on Schizachyrium scoparium. The species exhibits geographic variation in voltinism: univoltine in Michigan, bivoltine in the southern United States, and likely multivoltine in Brazil.
Cosmopterix clandestinella
Cosmopterix clandestinella is a small moth in the family Cosmopterigidae, with forewings measuring 3.2–3.7 mm. The species is distributed in the eastern United States and exhibits two generations annually. Adults are active in late May to early June and again in late July through August. The larvae are leaf miners on Dichanthelium clandestinum, constructing irregular longitudinal blotch mines.
Cosmopterix fernaldella
Fernald's Cosmopterix Moth
Cosmopterix fernaldella is a small moth in the family Cosmopterigidae, described by Walsingham in 1882. Adults have distinctive golden brown forewings with complex white line patterns and metallic greenish-gold spots. The species is known from the northeastern and north-central United States and parts of Canada. Larvae are leaf miners on Carex species.
Cosmopterix lespedezae
Cosmopterix lespedezae is a small moth in the family Cosmopterigidae, described by Hodges in 1962. Adults have a forewing length of approximately 4.7 mm and display distinctive wing patterns including white lines and yellow-gold metallic markings. The species is known from six states in the southeastern and central United States. Larvae are leaf miners on Fabaceae hosts, particularly Lespedeza and Desmodium species.
Cosmopterix nitens
Cosmopterix nitens is a small moth in the family Cosmopterigidae, with adults measuring 3.8-4.5 mm in forewing length. The species is native to the southeastern and south-central United States, ranging from coastal South Carolina to southwestern Texas, with an established population in Michigan. Larvae are leaf miners on Phragmites australis (common reed), creating distinctive gallery mines 3-7 cm long. Adults are multivoltine in the southern part of their range but likely univoltine in Michigan, flying from March through October.
Cosmopterix pulchrimella
Beautiful Cosmopterix Moth
Cosmopterix pulchrimella is a small moth in the family Cosmopterigidae, with a forewing length of 3.0–4.0 mm. It is distinguished by striking wing patterns including silver streaks, a bright orange transverse fascia, and metallic markings. The species has a transatlantic distribution, occurring in North America and across the Palearctic region. Larvae are leaf miners that feed on plants in the Urticaceae family.
Cremastobombycia
A genus of micromoths in the family Gracillariidae, subfamily Lithocolletinae. Species are leaf miners primarily associated with Asteraceae host plants. The genus was established by Braun in 1908 and includes at least nine described species distributed across the Americas, with recent discoveries extending its range to South American high-elevation Andean habitats. Several species have been investigated for biological control of invasive plants.
Cremastobombycia ambrosiaeella
A minute leaf-mining moth in the family Gracillariidae with a wingspan of 5.5–6.5 mm. The species is known from parts of Canada and the eastern and central United States. Larvae feed on several genera in the Asteraceae family, including Ambrosia, Helianthus, and Verbesina, forming mines in leaves.
Cremastobombycia chromolaenae
Cremastobombycia chromolaenae is a leaf-mining moth in the family Gracillariidae, described in 2013 by Davis. The species is a natural enemy of Chromolaena odorata (Siam weed), an invasive plant in the Asteraceae family. Its larvae feed as leaf miners within the host plant tissue.
Cremastobombycia solidaginis
Goldenrod Leafminer
Cremastobombycia solidaginis is a microlepidopteran moth in the family Gracillariidae, commonly known as the Goldenrod Leafminer. The species is distributed across eastern North America from Ontario and Quebec south to Florida and Texas. Larvae feed internally in leaves of goldenrod (Solidago) species and Baccharis pilularis, creating characteristic mines. Adults are small with a wingspan of 7–9 mm.