Caryocolum amaurella is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It is found in Denmark, Fennoscandia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Greece, Ukraine and Russia.[1] It is also present in Turkey.[2] The species is restricted to warm and sunny habitats such as dry meadows and pastures from lowland localities to about 2,200 meters in the Alps.[3]

Caryocolum amaurella
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Gelechiidae
Genus: Caryocolum
Species:
C. amaurella
Binomial name
Caryocolum amaurella
(Hering, 1924)
Synonyms
  • Lita amaurella Hering, 1924
  • Phthorimaea amaurella
  • Gnorimoschema amaurellum
  • Lita viscariae Schutze, 1926
  • Phthorimaea viscariae

The length of the forewings is 5–6 mm. The forewings are blackish, with scattered white and brown scales particularly along the dorsal margin and across the first quarter and middle.[4] Adults have been recorded on wing from late June to late September.

The larvae feed on Lychnis viscaria. They initially feed between spun terminal shoots, but later feed within the stem. Larvae can be found in April and May.

References edit

  1. ^ Fauna Europaea
  2. ^ Junnilainen, J. et al. 2010: The gelechiid fauna of the southern Ural Mountains, part II: list of recorded species with taxonomic notes (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Zootaxa, 2367: 1–68. Preview
  3. ^ DNA barcoding as a screening tool for cryptic diversity: an example from Caryocolum, with description of a new species (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae)
  4. ^ Huemer, P (1988). "A taxonomic revision of Caryocolum (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology. 57: 439–571.