Coleophora sternipennella
Encyclopedia
Coleophora sternipennella is a moth
of the Coleophoridae
family. It is found in all of Europe
, except Greece
and the Mediterranean Islands
. It is also known from the Caucasus
. It occurs in steppe and desert biotopes, in wasteland and uncultivated parts of anthropogenic areas.
The wingspan
is about 13 mm. Adult are on wing from July to August in western Europe.
The larvae feed on Atriplex
and Chenopodium
species. They create a tubular silken case which is 6-8 mm long. The mouth angle is 20-25°. The case is roughened by sand particles giving it a greyish yellow colour. It has vague length lines. Young larvae make a mine, from where a youth case is cut. After this, some small fleck mines are made. Finally, the larvae lives in the inflorescence, feeding on the developing fruits. Larvae can be found from September. They overwinter as a larva before pupating in June.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Coleophoridae
Coleophoridae
| name = Case-bearers| image = Coleophoridae-01 .jpg| image_width = 240px| image_caption = Adult of an unidentified case-bearer species| regnum = Animalia| phylum = Arthropoda| classis = Insecta| ordo = Lepidoptera| superfamilia = Gelechioidea...
family. It is found in all of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, except Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and the Mediterranean Islands
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. It is also known from the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. It occurs in steppe and desert biotopes, in wasteland and uncultivated parts of anthropogenic areas.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is about 13 mm. Adult are on wing from July to August in western Europe.
The larvae feed on Atriplex
Atriplex
Atriplex is a plant genus of 100-200 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache . The genus is quite variable and widely distributed. It includes many desert and seashore plants and halophytes, as well as plants of moist environments...
and Chenopodium
Chenopodium
Chenopodium is a genus of about 150 species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoots, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classifications separate it and its relatives as Chenopodiaceae, but...
species. They create a tubular silken case which is 6-8 mm long. The mouth angle is 20-25°. The case is roughened by sand particles giving it a greyish yellow colour. It has vague length lines. Young larvae make a mine, from where a youth case is cut. After this, some small fleck mines are made. Finally, the larvae lives in the inflorescence, feeding on the developing fruits. Larvae can be found from September. They overwinter as a larva before pupating in June.