Gorse soft shoot moth | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Depressariidae |
Genus: | Agonopterix |
Species: | A. umbellana |
Binomial name | |
Agonopterix umbellana (Fabricius, 1794) | |
Synonyms | |
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Agonopterix umbellana (gorse soft shoot moth) is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is native to western Europe, but was introduced to Hawaii in 1988 and New Zealand in 1990 to control Ulex europaeus . [1]
The wingspan is about 21 mm. The forewings are whitish ochreous ; veins and dorsum marked with dark fuscous lines ; first and sometimes second discal stigmata black ; terminal black dots. Hindwings pale whitish-grey, round apex sometimes interruptedly dark-edged. The larva is dull green ; dots black ; head and plate of 2 black [2]
Adults are on wing from August to April. It hibernates during winter and can reappear in the early spring.
The larvae feed on Ulex and Genista species within silken tubes.
Ulex is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are native to parts of western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.
Oecophoridae is a family of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. The phylogeny and systematics of gelechoid moths are still not fully resolved, and the circumscription of the Oecophoridae is strongly affected by this.
Ulex europaeus, the gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the British Isles and Western Europe.
Agonopterix arenella is a species of moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in all of Europe, except the Iberian Peninsula.
Agonopterix ocellana is a species of moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in Europe and was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775
The gorse tip moth is a smallish moth species of the family Depressariidae.
Agonopterix angelicella is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in most of Europe, except the Iberian Peninsula and south-eastern Europe. It is also found on the Russian plain and Siberia and in Japan.
Agonopterix capreolella is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in most of Europe, the eastern Palearctic realm, and the Near East.
Agonopterix heracliana is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in most of Europe, North Africa, the Near East, and the eastern part of the Palearctic realm. It was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Anarsia spartiella, the Wanstead grey, is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It is found in most of Europe.
Agonopterix ciliella is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in most of Europe, except the Iberian Peninsula, most of the Balkan Peninsula and the Benelux. It is also found in North America.
Agonopterix conterminella is a moth of the family Depressariidae which is found in Asia, Europe and North America. It was described by Philipp Christoph Zeller in 1839 from a specimen found in Augsburg, Germany. The larvae feed on the terminal shoots of willows.
Agonopterix pallorella is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in most of Europe.
Agonopterix yeatiana is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in most of Europe.
Agonopterix nanatella is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in most of Europe, except Fennoscandia, Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic region and most of the Balkan Peninsula.
Agonopterix rotundella is a moth of the family Depressariidae and is found in most of Europe. It was first described from moths found in Surrey, England by the entomologist John Douglas in 1846.
Agonopterix assimilella is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in most of Europe.
Agonopterix kaekeritziana is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in most of Europe east to the Near East and the eastern part of the Palearctic realm.
Anisoplaca ptyoptera is a species of moth in the family Gelechiidae. It was described by Edward Meyrick in 1885 and is endemic to New Zealand. This species is found throughout the North and South Islands and prefers habitat where its host plants are common. The larval hosts of this moth are species in the genus Carmichaelia and the larvae stem mine the host plant. However larvae have also been observed feeding on gorse species and as a result their potential as a biological control for gorse has been researched. This behaviour has only been recorded in the Canterbury and Otago regions. A. ptyoptera overwinters as larvae and while in that life stage can be parasitised by species of wasp in the genera Zealachertus and Diadegma. Pupation begins in October. Adult moths are on the wing from October until May with peak emergence occurring in January. The adult moths come in two size classes and should the size of the female be in the larger class fecundity is improved. It is likely that this species has only one brood a year.
Scythris grandipennis is a moth of the family Scythrididae found in Europe.