Spuleria

Spuleria is a genus of moths of the family Elachistidae. It contains only one species Spuleria flavicaput, which is found in most of Europe and Anatolia.

Spuleria
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Elachistidae (disputed)
Subfamily:
Parametriotinae
Genus:
Spuleria

Hofmann, 1897
Species:
S. flavicaput
Binomial name
Spuleria flavicaput
(Haworth, 1828)[1]
Synonyms
List
    • Porrectaria flavicaput Haworth, 1828
    • Chrysoclista flavicaput
    • Tinea aurifrontella Geyer, [1832]
    • Rösler[s]tammia aurocapitella Bruand, [1851]
    • Chrysoclysta flavicapitella Doubleday, 1859

Taxonomy

Some authors list the genus as a synonym of Chrysoclista. If valid, the genus is mostly placed in the family Elachistidae, but other authors list it as a member of the family Agonoxenidae, Cosmopterigidae or Blastodacnidae.

Description of Spuleria flavicaput

The wingspan is 12–14 mm. The head is orange-yellow. Palpi yellow, basal half blackish, terminal joint very short. Forewings are purplish-black; plical and second discal stigmata black, raised. Hindwings are dark fuscous. The larva is slender and whitish.[2] Adults are diurnal, i.e. flying in the morning from May to June.[3]

Biology

The larvae feed on hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) and midland hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata). They mine the young twigs of their host plant in summer and autumn. Pupation takes place in the mine. Before pupation, the larva seal the mine entrance with a spinning. Larvae can be found from September to March or April.[4]

References
  1. "Spuleria O. Hofmann, 1897". Fauna Europaea. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  2. Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Keys and description
  3. Kimber, Ian. "39.003 BF904 Spuleria flavicaput (Haworth, 1828)". UKmoths. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  4. Karl Traugott Schütze: Die Biologie der Kleinschmetterlinge unter besonderer Berücksichtigung ihrer Nährpflanzen und Erscheinungszeiten. Handbuch der Microlepidopteren. Raupenkalender geordnet nach der Illustrierten deutschen Flora von H. Wagner. Frankfurt am Main, Verlag des Internationalen Entomologischen Vereins e. V., 1931, S. 102
  • Data related to Spuleria at Wikispecies
  • Media related to Spuleria at Wikimedia Commons


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.