Bug FAQAntispila ampelopsifoliella
Antispila ampelopsifoliella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Heliozelidae
Antispila ampelopsifoliella is a tiny moth with a wingspan of about 5 mm and forewings around 2.5 mm long. Its larvae mine the leaves of Virginia creeper and false Virginia creeper, creating a sinuous line that widens into a blotch before cutting a small case to pupate. The species lives in eastern North America, from Ontario down through several eastern U.S. states, and looks identical to Aspilanta oinophylla except for genital differences.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Externally the moth cannot be distinguished from Aspilanta oinophylla; only genital examination separates them.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The leaf mine begins as a long, sinuous line that widens into an elongate blotch. When ready to pupate, the larva cuts a 3.5 to 4 mm long case from the leaf, leaving an elliptic hole.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is native to eastern North America, found in both Canada and the eastern United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Adults look identical to Aspilanta oinophylla and can only be separated by examining the genitalia.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 13 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Louisiana.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants do the larvae mine?
The larvae mine the leaves of Virginia creeper and false Virginia creeper.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell this moth apart from similar species?
It looks the same as Aspilanta oinophylla externally; only genital examination can differentiate them.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Heliozelidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspilanta_ampelopsifoliella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-29 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-29.