Metzneria aestivella is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It is found in most of Europe, except Iceland, Norway, Lithuania, Slovakia and Ukraine. The habitat consists of dry, sunny areas with low-growing herbaceous plants.
| Metzneria aestivella | |
|---|---|
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| Metzneria aestivella dichroa | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Gelechiidae |
| Genus: | Metzneria |
| Species: | M. aestivella
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| Binomial name | |
| Metzneria aestivella | |
| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 11–15 mm. The terminal joint of palpi slender, 2/3 of second. Forewings pale are ochreous, more or less wholly suffused with reddish-ochreous ; margins and veins partly marked with fuscous lines. Hindwings are grey. The larva is whitish ; head and plate of 2 blackish.[2] Adults are similar to Metzneria lappella and Metzneria metzneriella but lack the black discal spot on the forewing.[3] Adults are on wing from June to July.
Larvae can be found in winter and spring in old flowers of Carlina vulgaris, Pyrethrum corymbosum and Carlina acaulis. Full-grown larvae reach a length of 8–9 mm. They have a cream-coloured body. The colour of the head varies from dark-brown to red-brown. Pupation takes place in mid-May, usually outside of the flower seeds.[4]
Subspecies edit
- Metzneria aestivella aestivella
- Metzneria aestivella dichroa Walsingham, 1908 (Canary Islands)
References edit
- ^ Fauna Europaea
- ^ Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Keys and description
- ^ UKmoths
- ^ microlepidoptera.nl Archived 2013-10-05 at the Wayback Machine
