Pyropteron muscaeforme | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Sesiidae |
Genus: | Pyropteron |
Subgenus: | Synansphecia |
Species: | P. muscaeforme |
Binomial name | |
Pyropteron muscaeforme | |
Synonyms | |
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Pyropteron muscaeforme, the thrift clearwing, is a moth of the family Sesiidae. It is known from most of Europe.
A small member of its genus, the wingspan is 15–18 mm. It is further distinguished by narrow clear (transparent) spaces on the blackish, or bronzy, forewings. There are three whitish bands on the body, and traces of a whitish line along the middle of the back. Adults can be found on the flowers of the host plant, as well as on thyme ( Thymus vulgaris ). Males are attracted to pheromone lures. It is found on exposed rocky areas where its larval food plant occurs and overwinters as a larva. [2]
Eggs are ovoid, are black with white retriculations and are laid on thrift ( Armeria maritima ). They can only be seen under magnification, as they are only c. 0.7 mm on the longest axis. [3]
Larvae are 11-15 mm long. They have a yellowish-white body, reddish-brown head and the prothorax is pale brown. They feed from August to May on the roots and stem in a silk-lined tunnel. In late summer and autumn, piles of reddish-frass can be seen extruding from infected stems. Plants with larvae are often on the edge of large patches of thrift. Larvae of Lobesia littoralis feed in the flowers, shoots and leaves in the spring and seeds in the autumn. [4] [5]
The pupa is slender and tapering, 12–14 mm long and is light reddish-brown with darker brown eyes, thorax and wings. It does not pupate in a cocoon. [3]
Originally named Sphinx muscaeforme by the German zoologist Eugen Johann Christoph Esper in 1783, the genus was erected by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Sphinx refers to the monument of the same name, near the great pyramid in Egypt, which has the body of a lion and the bust of a women. Linnaeus may have seen a similarity between the raised head of the statue and a larva with its head raised, although there is no evidence that the generic names Linnaeus chose, had any direct application to the insects in the genus. The present genus Pyropteron [ clarification needed ]was raised by the English entomologist Edward Newman in 1832. The specific name muscaeforme means in the form of a fly. [6]
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Synanthedon myopaeformis is a moth of the family Sesiidae and the order Lepidoptera. In Europe it is known as the red-belted clearwing and in North America as the apple clearwing moth. The larvae create galleries under the bark of fruit trees, especially old trees with damaged trunks. During this process, the larvae cause significant damage to host trees. Particular attention has been paid to the damage they cause to apple trees. Their status as a pest of apple orchards has led to many research projects aimed at controlling populations of the moth. This moth is native to Europe, the Near East and North Africa. Recently, the moth was introduced into North America, being first detected in Canada in 2005. There are several organisms that threaten the larvae, including parasitoids, nematodes, and bacteria.
Thalera fimbrialis, the Sussex emerald, is a species of moth of the family Geometridae, found in Europe and across the Palearctic to the area surrounding the Amur River in China. It was described by the Italian physician and naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1763.
Eriocrania salopiella is a moth of the family Eriocraniidae and is found in Europe. It was described by the English entomologist, Henry Tibbats Stainton in 1854. The larvae mine the leaves of birch.
Eriocrania unimaculella is a moth of the family Eriocraniidae found in Europe. It was first described by the Swedish naturalist Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt in 1839. The larvae feed inside the leaves of birch, making a mine.
Eriocrania chrysolepidella is a moth of the family Eriocraniidae found in Europe. It was first described by the German entomologist, Philipp Christoph Zeller in 1851. The larvae mine the leaves of hazel and hornbeam.
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.
Stigmella sorbi is a moth of the family Nepticulidae, described by Henry Tibbats Stainton in 1861. It is found in most of Europe, east to the eastern part of the Palearctic realm.
Micropterix tunbergella is a moth of the family Micropterigidae found in most of Europe. The moths are very small and can be found feeding on the pollen of hawthorn, oak and sycamore. The larva and pupa are unknown. The moth was described Johan Christian Fabricius in 1787.
Coleophora argentula is a moth of the family Coleophoridae, found in most of Europe, Russia and Asia Minor. The larvae live in cases and feed on the seeds of yarrow and sneezewort.
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Coptotriche marginea is a moth of the family Tischeriidae, found in most of Europe. It was named by the English botanist, carcinologist and entomologist, Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1828, from a specimen found in England. The larvae mine the leaves of brambles (Rubus) species.
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Acanthopsyche atra, the dusky sweep, is a moth of the family Psychidae. The habitat consists of heath and moorland.
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