Cosmopterix schmidiella

Cosmopterix schmidiella
Cosmopterix schmidiella
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Cosmopterigidae
Genus: Cosmopterix
Species: C. schmidiella
Binomial name
Cosmopterix schmidiella
(Frey, 1856)[1]
Synonyms
  • Cosmopteryx schmidiella Frey, 1856
  • Cosmopterix schmidiella ab. obsoleta Banks

Cosmopterix schmidiella is a moth of the Cosmopterigidae family. It is found from most of Great Britain to Romania, and from Japan through central Russia to the Iberian Peninsula. It is believed to be extinct in Britain.

A leaf of Vicia sepium with leaflets discolourd by larva
Larva

The wingspan is 9-9.5 mm.[2] Adults are on wing from August to May. Then the larva hibernates outside of the mine in a hibernaculum.

The larvae feed on Lathyrus montanus, Lathyrus niger, Vicia sepium and Vicia pisiformis. They mine te leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a large blotch, that may occupy an entire leaflet. During feeding pauses, the larva rests in a silken resting place above the midrib. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.[3]

References

  1. ^ Fauna Europaea
  2. ^ Hants Moths
  3. ^ bladmineerders.nl
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