Monochroa tenebrella, the common plain neb, is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It was described by Jacob Hübner in 1817. It is found in most of Europe. The habitat consists of open grassy areas and heathland.

Monochroa tenebrella
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Gelechiidae
Genus: Monochroa
Species:
M. tenebrella
Binomial name
Monochroa tenebrella
(Hübner, [1817])[1]
Synonyms
  • Tinea tenebrella Hübner, [1817]
  • Porrectaria fuscocuprea Haworth, 1828
  • Glyphipteryx subcuprella Stephens, 1834
  • Gelechia tenebrosella Zeller, 1839
  • Butalis buffonella Millière, 1876

The wingspan is 10–12 mm.[2] The antennae with apical third in female white. Forewings unicolorous dark shining bronzy ; base of costa purplish-tinged. Hindwings are grey. The larva is reddish ; spots brown ; head and plate of 2 black-brown.[3] Adults are on wing from June to July and are day-flying.

The larvae feed on Rumex acetosella. They feed on the roots[4] and lower stems of their host plant.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ Fauna Europaea
  2. ^ Microlepidoptera.nl Archived 2013-10-05 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ Kimber, Ian. "35.066 BF735 Monochroa tenebrella (Hübner, [1817])". UKMoths. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  5. ^ Hantsmoths