The length of the forewings is 3.8–4.1mm for males and 3.3–3.7mm for females. The forewings are uniformly black with a distinct golden to sometimes bluish luster. The hindwings are slightly paler and fuscous with a distinct purplish luster along the costal half. Adults are on wing from early March to mid April in one generation per year.[1][4]
The larvae feed on Quercus nigra and possibly Quercus falcata, Quercus alba, Quercus hemisphaerica and Quercus virginiana,[1] and several other oaks.[4] They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a serpentine mine in the upper epidermis of the leaf, proceeding along the leaf edge to the apical portion of the leaf where a full-depth, blotch-shaped mine is produced. Full-grown larvae cut a hole in the lower leaf surface and drop to the soil surface. There, they burrow into the soil and spin a cocoon.[1][4]
Etymology
The specific name is derived from Latin media (meaning middle) and bulla (meaning knob) and refers to the diagnostic midventral, knoblike process on the vinculum of the male.[1]
1 2 3 4 5 Hall, S.P.; etal. (2025). "Eriocraniella mediabulla Davis & Faeth, 1986". Moths of North Carolina. Raleigh (NC): North Carolina Biodiversity Project and North Carolina State Parks. Retrieved 16 February 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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