Ochromolopis ictella
Encyclopedia
Ochromolopis ictella is a moth
of the Epermeniidae
family. It is found from Finland
to the Iberian Peninsula
, Italy
and Greece
and from France
to Ukraine
.
The wingspan
is 11-13 mm.
The larvae feed on Thesium
species, including Thesium bavarum. They initially mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a short, full depth, irregular, linear mine. A single larva may make several mines. Older larvae live freely on the plant under some spinning. Larvae are greenish with a pale brown head.
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 Epermeniidae
Epermeniidae
Epermeniidae or "fringe-tufted moths" is a family of insects in the lepidopteran order with about 14 genera. Previously they have been divided in two subfamilies Epermeniinae and Ochromolopinae but this is no longer maintained since the last group is probably hierarchically nested within the first...
family. It is found from Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
to the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, 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...
and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and from 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...
to Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
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 11-13 mm.
The larvae feed on Thesium
Thesium
Thesium is a genus of plants in the family Santalaceae. It contains about 325 species distributed on all Old World continents, but is most diverse in South Africa....
species, including Thesium bavarum. They initially mine
Leaf miner
Leaf miner is a term used to describe the larvae of many different species of insect which live in and eat the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths , sawflies and flies , though some beetles and wasps also exhibit this behavior.Like Woodboring beetles, leaf...
the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a short, full depth, irregular, linear mine. A single larva may make several mines. Older larvae live freely on the plant under some spinning. Larvae are greenish with a pale brown head.