Shield-bearing moths get their name from the “shield”-shaped disc they cut from the interior of a leaf to pupate within. Luckily, this process was recorded in a time-lapse video by one of the survey’s members. Watching closely, you can see the larvae of Aspilanta oinophylla (no common name) - a leafminer living within the tissue of a leaf - cutting an oval-shaped hole while stitching the edges of both leaf surfaces together with silk. Once the “shield” has been completely cut and sealed, it drops to the leaf litter with the larva inside, where it will pupate and spend the winter before eclosing as an adult moth next spring/summer.

This is an example of one of many leafminer species we have observed within High Park. Check out our iNaturalist project “Leafminers of High Park” to see more.

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