Lithocolletis robiniella Clemens, 1859
Phyllonorycter robiniella (Clemens, 1859)
Macrosaccus robiniella (Clemens, 1859)
Argyromiges pseudacaciella Fitch, 1859
Lithocolletis pseudacaciella (Fitch, 1859)
Note: this species has long been assigned to the genus Phyllonorycter,
but has been combined with the new genus name Macrosaccus by Davis and
De Prins (2011). The new genus differs from Phyllonorycter in lifestyle
(in Macrosaccus several larvae live in a composite mine, whereas
Phyllonorycter larvae are solitary), and details in wing venation. This
might indeed justify the erection of a new genus, but given the huge
species number of Phyllonorycter (over 400 species worldwide!) the
removal of a handful of these to a new genus harbors the risk that the
remaining Phyllonorycter are rendered paraphyletic. A full phylogenetic
analysis is required to answer this question, and I accept the new
combination only provisionally, especially because in the past
Phyllonorycter also served as a "dustbin" for Gracillariidae species
with unclear affinities and is therefore probably para- or polyphyletic
anyway.
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