Bedellia somnulentella (Zeller, 1847)
(one synonym: Bedellia ipomoeae)
Sweet Potato Leaf Miner
LYONETIIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley


(Photo: courtesy of Donald Hobern, Aranda)

These Caterpillars are dark grey with a dark brown bulge each side of each segment. The head is black. They feed by mining the leaves of various members of the Bindweed and Sweet Potato family ( CONVOLVULACEAE ) , eg:

  • Sweet Potato ( Ipomoea batatas ), and
  • Field Bindweed ( Convolvulus arvensis ).


    (Drawing: courtesy of CSIRO Entomology)

    The adult moths are fawn with a hairy head and thorax, and fringes of hairs on the trailing edge of each forewing, and around the whole of each hindwing. The antennae are nearly as long as the forewings. The moths have a wingspan of about 1 cm.


    oh dear: no abdomen
    (Photo: courtesy of Landcare Research, New Zealand)

    The eggs are laid singly on the upper surface of a leaf of a foodplant.

    They species is found all over the world, for example:

  • Great Britain,
  • Japan,
  • New Zealand,
  • Slovakia,
  • U.S.A.,
    as well as in Australia including
  • Western Australia,
  • South Australia,
  • Tasmania,
  • Victoria,
  • Australian Capital Territory,
  • New South Wales, and
  • Queensland.

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common, Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 21.12, p. 215.

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    (updated 15 August 2011)