Rhopobota ustomaculana
Encyclopedia
The Loch Rannoch Tortrix or Rannoch Bell (Rhopobota ustomaculana) is a moth
of the Tortricidae
family. It is found in most of Europe
, east to the eastern part of the Palearctic ecozone.
The wingspan
is about 13 mm. Adults are on wing from June to July. They fly during the afternoon and evening.
The larvae feed on Vaccinium vitis-idaea
. They spin together the leaves of their host plant, feeding on the upper parenchyma. The species overwinters in this stage.
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 Tortricidae
Tortricidae
Tortricidae is a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths, in the order Lepidoptera. Tortricidae is a large family with over 9,400 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea. Many of these are economically important pests. Olethreutidae is a junior synonym...
family. It is found in most 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...
, east to the eastern part of the Palearctic ecozone.
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. Adults are on wing from June to July. They fly during the afternoon and evening.
The larvae feed on Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Vaccinium vitis-idaea is a short evergreen shrub in the heath family that bears edible sour fruit, native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America. In the past it was seldom cultivated, but fruit was commonly collected in the wild. ...
. They spin together the leaves of their host plant, feeding on the upper parenchyma. The species overwinters in this stage.