Mirificarma ulicinella
Encyclopedia
Mirificarma ulicinella is a moth
of the Gelechiidae
family. It is found in Portugal
, Spain
, France
and Italy
.
The wingspan
is 5.5-6.5 mm for males and 5-6 mm for females. The head is ochreous cream. The forewings are mottled dark and light brown with paler yellow-ochre areas. Adults are on wing from August to September in one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Ulex parviflorus. They feed from within the flowers. Larvae can be found from October to April. Pupation takes place at the base of the plant in a shell of dried leaves
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 Gelechiidae
Gelechiidae
Gelechiidae is a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the Gelechiidae's relationships with and delimitation against their relatives have been subject to considerable...
family. It is found in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
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 5.5-6.5 mm for males and 5-6 mm for females. The head is ochreous cream. The forewings are mottled dark and light brown with paler yellow-ochre areas. Adults are on wing from August to September in one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Ulex parviflorus. They feed from within the flowers. Larvae can be found from October to April. Pupation takes place at the base of the plant in a shell of dried leaves