Our insect of the week for February 16, 2026 is Dyseriocrania griseocapitella (the Chinquapin leaf-miner) [LEPIDOPTERA: Eriocraniidae]. It was described by Thomas Walsingham [an English politician and amateur entomologist] in 1898. Yep, same politician mentioned last week.

This species is known from Nova Scotia to Florida; central Illinois is at the edge of the range of this species (and yet, it is found here). Larvae feed on chestnuts and oaks. As the name suggests, they mine between the surfaces of the leaves. Full grown larvae exit the leaf, drop to the ground and burrow into the soil.

Adults are active in the daytime for this species. they are often encountered in early spring. They drink water and sap through their proboscis. They can be collected by tapping branches with a beating tray as they will fall and remain motionless when thusly disturbed.

This specimen shown was collected and photographed by Frank Hitchell in Peoria County, Illinois.