Prays fraxinella

Last updated

Ash bud moth
Prays fraxinella 2.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Praydidae
Genus: Prays
Species:
P. fraxinella
Binomial name
Prays fraxinella
Bjerkander, 1784
Synonyms
List
    • Tinea fraxinella
    • Phalaena curtisella
    • Prays curtisellus
    • Prays curtisella(Donovan, 1793)

Prays fraxinella, also known as the ash bud moth, is a moth of the family Plutellidae found in Europe. The larvae are leaf miners, feeding on the leaves and buds of ash trees.

Contents

Description

The wingspan is 14–18 mm. The head is white or greyish ochreous. Forewings are white or greyish-ochreous; some blackish dorsal strigulae; a triangular blackish blotch, lighter or mixed with whitish on costa, extending along costa from near base to 2/3; some irregular blackish marks towards termen; sometimes the whole wing is unicolorous dark fuscous. Hind wings are rather dark grey. The larva is greenish, marbled with red -brown above; dorsal line deep green; head pale brown, dark-spotted; 2 with two black spots. [1]

Adults are on wing from May to June and again in August in two generations depending on the location. [2]

Prays fraxinella has two colour forms, the typical white and black colouration and the melanic form f.rustica.

Recently,[ when? ] the form f.rustica, that has an orange head has been separated into an entirely new species, Prays ruficeps .

Ovum

Eggs are laid on the twigs of ash ( Fraxinus excelsior ) and manna ash ( Fraxinus ornus ) in June and July. [3]

Larva

When fully fed the larvae are 12 mm long and the body is greenish, with the head brown with black spots. As a juvenile leaf miner, the body is yellowish with a black head and anal plate, and as a bark miner the body is whitish. [3] [4]

Pupa

The larvae pupate in an open network cocoon and can be found in May or June. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mottled beauty</span> Species of moth

The mottled beauty is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

<i>Orthosia populeti</i> Species of moth

Orthosia populeti, the lead-coloured drab, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe.

<i>Heliothis viriplaca</i> Species of moth

Heliothis viriplaca, the marbled clover, is a moth of the family Noctuoidea. It is found in Europe and across the Palearctic to Central Asia then to Japan, Korea and Sakhalin. In the south, it penetrates to Kashmir and Myanmar. As a migratory moth, it also reaches areas in northern Fennoscandia in some years. North of the Alps, both indigenous and immigrant individuals occur in certain areas. The heat-loving species occurs mainly on dry grasslands, fallow land, heathlands and sunny slopes and slopes and the edges of sand and gravel pits.

<i>Archips xylosteana</i> Species of moth

Archips xylosteana, the variegated golden tortrix or brown oak tortrix, is a moth of the family Tortricidae.

<i>Pyrausta despicata</i> Species of moth

Pyrausta despicata, the straw-barred pearl, is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. It was described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in his 1763 Entomologia Carniolica.

<i>Crambus perlella</i> Species of moth

Crambus perlella is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. It is found in Europe and east across the Palearctic.

<i>Pediasia aridella</i> Species of moth

Pediasia aridella is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. It was described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1788 and is found in Europe. There are three recognised subspecies.

<i>Gracillaria syringella</i> Species of moth

Gracillaria syringella is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is found in Europe. It has been introduced in North America.

<i>Lithophane semibrunnea</i> Species of moth

Lithophane semibrunnea, the tawny pinion, is a moth of the Noctuoidea family. It is found in scattered populations in North Africa, central and southern Europe and Asia Minor.

<i>Anacampsis populella</i> Species of moth

Anacampsis populella is a moth of the family Gelechiidae, which is native to Europe and has been accidentally introduced to North America. It was first described in 1759 by Carl Alexander Clerck, a Swedish entomologist. The type specimen is from Sweden. The foodplants of the larvae are poplars and willows.

<i>Parornix anglicella</i> Species of moth

Parornix anglicella is a moth of the family Gracillariidae found in Asia and Europe. It was described in 1850, by the English entomologist Henry Tibbats Stainton, from a specimen from Lewisham, Kent.

<i>Bucculatrix maritima</i> Species of moth in genus Bucculatrix

Bucculatrix maritima is a species of moth of the family Bucculatricidae. It is found in most of Europe, Russia and Japan. It was first described in 1851 by Henry Tibbats Stainton.

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

Cosmopterix nitens is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from the United States, where it is found from coastal South Carolina to south-western Texas. It is also established in Michigan.

<i>Caryocolum marmorea</i> Species of moth

Caryocolum marmorea is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It is found from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean islands, and from Ireland to Poland, Hungary and Greece. It is also found on the Canary Islands and Madeira. It is also found in North America.

<i>Athetis hospes</i> Species of moth

Athetis hospes, or Porter's rustic, is a moth of the family Noctuidae which was described by Christian Friedrich Freyer in 1835. It is found in Spain, southern France, Italy, on the Balkan Peninsula, Crete, Turkey and northern Iran. The species seems to be expanding its range in north-western Europe with records from Great Britain and the Netherlands.

<i>Cochylis pallidana</i> Species of moth

Cochylis pallidana, the sheep's-bit conch, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It was described by Zeller in 1847.

<i>Cnephasia longana</i> Species of moth

Cnephasia longana, the omnivorous leaftier moth, long-winged shade or strawberry fruitworm, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It was described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1811. It is native to western Europe. It is an introduced species in western North America. The species has also been reported from north-western Africa and Asia. The habitat consists of downland and rough ground.

<i>Austramathes purpurea</i> Species of moth endemic to New Zealand

Austramathes purpurea is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and can be found throughout the North and South Islands but has yet to be recorded at Stewart Island. It inhabits native forest. This species might possibly be confused with A. pessota, however this latter species does not have the purple hue to the forewings. The larvae of A. purpurea feed primarily on māhoe but have been recorded as feeding on, and have been reared on, narrow-leaved māhoe. The larvae pupate in a silken cocoon on moss covered ground. Adults can be found on the wing during the months of March to January but mainly occur during New Zealand's late autumn, winter, and spring. Light trapping may not be the most efficient technique for collecting this species.

<i>Pammene argyrana</i> Species of moth

Pammene argyrana is a species of moth belonging to the family Tortricidae.

<i>Orthenches chlorocoma</i> Species of moth endemic to New Zealand

Orthenches chlorocoma is a moth of the family Plutellidae first described by Edward Meyrick in 1885. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in the North and South Islands. The larvae of this species feed on native broom species in the genus Carmichaelia including Carmichaelia australis. Adults are on the wing in September, October and February.

References

  1. Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain . Keys and description
  2. Kimber, Ian. "Ash Bud Moth Prays fraxinella (Bjerkander, 1784)". UKmoths. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Agassiz, D J L (1996). Emmet, A Maitland (ed.). Yponomeutidae. In Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 3. Colchester: Harley Books. pp. 68–9. ISBN   0-946589-56-9.
  4. Ellis, W N. "Prays fraxinella (Bjerkander, 1784) ash-bud moth". Plant Parasites of Europe. Retrieved 15 February 2023.