Cosmopterix pulchrimella

Last updated

Cosmopterix pulchrimella
Cosmopterix pulchrimella.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Cosmopterigidae
Genus: Cosmopterix
Species:
C. pulchrimella
Binomial name
Cosmopterix pulchrimella
Chambers, 1875
Synonyms
  • Cosmopteryx parietariaeHering, 1931
  • Cosmopterix parietariae

Cosmopterix pulchrimella, the beautiful cosmopterix moth, is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from the United States (from Massachusetts, Michigan, and southern Wyoming south to southern Florida, southern Arizona, and New Mexico) and Canada. It is also present in the Palearctic realm, where it is known from the Mediterranean Basin, from Portugal to the western Transcaucasus, north to Switzerland and Hungary. It has also been recorded from the Azores, the Canary Islands and Madeira. It has recently been found in southern England.

Contents

Description

Adult

Male, female. Forewing length 3.0-4.0 mm. Head: frons shining grey, shining white towards clypeus, vertex and neck tufts shining dark brown, laterally and medially lined white, collar shining dark brown; labial palpus first segment very short, white, second segment four-fifths of the length of third, shining white on inside, dark brown with a white longitudinal line on outside, third segment white, lined brown laterally; scape dorsally shining dark brown with a white anterior line, ventrally shining white, antenna shining dark brown with a white interrupted line from base to beyond one-half, near base often uninterrupted, followed towards apex by five dark brown segments, one white, one dark brown, one white, three dark brown, one white, approximately twelve dark brown, three white and five dark brown segments at apex. Thorax and tegulae shining dark brown, thorax with a white median line. Legs: shining dark brown, foreleg with a white line on tibia and tarsal segment one, tibia of midleg with white oblique basal and medial lines and a white apical ring, tarsal segments one and two with white apical rings, segment five entirely white, tibia of hindleg as midleg, tarsal segments four and five entirely white, spurs white dorsally, brown ventrally. Forewing shining dark brown, three short silver streaks in the basal area, sometimes with a pale golden gloss, a subcostal nearest to base and bending from costa distally, a shorter medial underneath the distal end of the subcostal, a subdorsal, as long as the subcostal but further from base, a bright orange transverse fascia beyond the middle, narrowing towards dorsum, in some of the specimens from the USA the fascia is partly or completely darkened, bordered at the inner edge by broad tubercular pale golden metallic fascia, sometimes with a pinkish gloss, perpendicular at dorsum, edged blackish on the outside, bordered at the outer edge by a similarly coloured inwardly oblique fascia, edged blackish on the inside, at the costa of the outer fascia a broad white costal streak, the apical line as a silver metallic spot with bluish reflection in the middle of the apical area and a broad white spot in the cilia at apex, cilia dark brown. Hindwing shining brown, cilia brown. Underside: forewing shining dark greyish brown, the white costal streak and apical spot distinctly visible, hindwing shining dark greyish brown. Abdomen shining dark brown dorsally, ventrally segments banded white posteriorly, anal tuft brown. [1]

Larva

Head and prothoracic plate black, anal plate greyish brown, thoracic legs pale brown, body greyish white.

Biology

The larvae feed on Parietaria judaica , Parietaria officinalis , Parietaria pensylvanica and Pilea pumila . They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mines starts as an irregular gallery usually at the midrib, soon leading to an irregular blotch. Inside the mine a silken spinning is found, which often causes contortion of the leaf. The larva constructs a silk-lined gallery, which serves as a shelter when the larva is not feeding. The frass is partly inside the mine, but most of it is rejected through a hole at the beginning of the mine. The black pellets of frass on the underside of a leaf indicate the presence of a larva. New mines are made very often. The cocoon is found inside the mine. The species is bivoltine, with adults on wing throughout the year in southern areas.

Related Research Articles

<i>Cosmopterix astrapias</i> Species of moth from the Americas

Cosmopterix astrapias is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from the United States, Argentina, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico (Tabasco) and Puerto Rico.

<i>Cosmopterix callichalca</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix callichalca is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from Argentina (Salta), Brazil and the United States

<i>Cosmopterix chisosensis</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix chisosensis is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from Argentina and the United States.

<i>Cosmopterix clandestinella</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix clandestinella is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from the United States.

<i>Cosmopterix etmylaurae</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix etmylaurae is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from Costa Rica.

<i>Cosmopterix facunda</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix facunda is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from Texas, United States.

<i>Cosmopterix gemmiferella</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix gemmiferella is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from the United States and Canada (Ontario).

<i>Cosmopterix inaugurata</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix inaugurata is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from Brazil (Pará) and Guyana.

<i>Cosmopterix inopis</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix inopis is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known in the United States, from Arizona and Florida.

<i>Cosmopterix iocaste</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix iocaste is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from the Federal District of Brazil.

<i>Cosmopterix langmaidi</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix langmaidi is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from Belize.

<i>Cosmopterix magophila</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix magophila is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from the United States and the Dominican Republic.

<i>Cosmopterix nishidai</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix nishidai is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from Costa Rica.

<i>Cosmopterix opulenta</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix opulenta is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from the United States and Costa Rica.

<i>Cosmopterix similis</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix similis is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from the US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands (Guana).

<i>Cosmopterix taygete</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix taygete is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from Bahia, Brazil.

<i>Cosmopterix thyone</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix thyone is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from Minas Gerais, Brazil.

<i>Cosmopterix vanderwolfi</i> Species of moth

Cosmopterix vanderwolfi is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from Puerto Rico.

<i>Pebobs ipomoeae</i> Species of moth

Pebobs ipomoeae is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from Florida.

<i>Pebobs tetragramma</i> Species of moth

Pebobs tetragramma is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from Guyana.

References

As of this edit, this article uses content from "The genera Cosmopterix Hübner and Pebobs Hodges in the New World with special attention to the Neotropical fauna (Lepidoptera: Cosmopterigidae)" , which is licensed in a way that permits reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, but not under the GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.

  1. "The genera Cosmopterix Hübner and Pebobs Hodges in the New World with special attention to the Neotropical fauna (Lepidoptera: Cosmopterigidae)". Archived from the original on 2018-10-18. Retrieved 2011-03-21.