About Phyllonorycter maestingella (Müller, 1764)
Phyllonorycter maestingella (Müller, 1764) is a moth species belonging to the family Gracillariidae. This moth is distributed across Europe, Russia, and British Columbia, Canada. The adult imago is typically bivoltine, with flight periods varying by geographic location: adults fly in May and June, then again in August. The wingspan of the adult moth ranges from 7 to 9 mm, and the wings feature an intricate pattern made up of orange-brown, black, and white markings. The larva, which is pale greenish-yellow, feeds on beech trees of the genus Fagus. It creates a long blotch mine on the underside of beech leaves, usually positioned between two veins, extending almost from the leaf's midrib to the leaf edge. When the mine forms along the margin of the leaf, it can cause the leaf margin to fold downwards. The cocoon of this moth is located to one side of the accumulated frass, which is piled neatly along the center of the mine.
