Diasemia reticularis

Diasemia reticularis
Diasemia reticularis
Adult in Commanster (Belgian Ardennes) in June
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Crambidae
Genus: Diasemia
Species: D. reticularis
Binomial name
Diasemia reticularis
(Linnaeus, 1761)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena Pyralis reticularis Linnaeus, 1761
  • Diasema litteratalapsus)
  • Diasemia litterata (Scopoli, 1763)
  • Phalaena argentalis Fabricius, 1781
  • Phalaena litterata Scopoli, 1763
  • Phalaena literata (Heinemann, 1865)
  • Phalaena litteralis (Duponchel, 1831-1834)
  • Pyralis literalis Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775

Diasemia reticularis is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. It is typically found in the tropics, but may range into Europe as far north as the North Sea region because of its migratory nature.

The wingspan is 18–22 mm. The adults can be encountered all over the year if considering the species' entire range, but in subtropical and temperate regions they are rare outside the warm months.

The larvae feed mainly on Cichorieae, such as Cichorium (chicories), Hieracium (hawkweeds) and Picris (oxtongues), but also on Plantago (plantain herbs). More unusually, they have been recorded[1] to feed on plant refuse and dry leaves.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Grabe (1942)

References

  • Grabe, Albert (1942): Eigenartige Geschmacksrichtungen bei Kleinschmetterlingsraupen ["Strange tastes among micromoth caterpillars"]. Zeitschrift des Wiener Entomologen-Vereins 27: 105-109 [in German]. PDF fulltext

External links

Media related to Diasemia reticularis at Wikimedia Commons

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