Nemophora minimella is a moth of the Adelidae family. It is found in most of Europe, except Estonia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Switzerland and Portugal.

Nemophora minimella
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Adelidae
Genus: Nemophora
Species:
N. minimella
Binomial name
Nemophora minimella
Synonyms
  • Tinea minimella Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775
  • Nemotois schiffermillerellus var. lenellus (Zeller, 1853)[2]
Part of scabious head with larva and larval case
Larva

The wingspan is 11–13 millimetres (0.43–0.51 in).[3] Adult males have antennae which are almost twice the wing length, while those of the female are just over one wing length. Head in males black, in female ferruginous. Forewings golden-bronzy, becoming coppery posteriorly, base more brassy ; a blackish basal dash beneath costa ; a very obscurely marked violet -brownish postmedian shade. Hindwings dark purplish - fuscous, in male sometimes whitish except apex..[4]

They are on wing in July and fly during the day.[5]

The larvae feed on Succisa pratensis and Scabiosa columbaria. They first feed on the seeds. Later, they feed on the lower leaves from within a portable case.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Nemophora minimella (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)". 2.5. Fauna Europaea. July 23, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  2. ^ Mikhail V. Kozlov. "Annotated checklist of the European species of Nemophora (Adelidae)" (PDF). Turku, Finland: University of Turku. pp. 115–126. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-23.
  3. ^ microlepidoptera.nl Archived 2014-07-01 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Keys and description
  5. ^ "Nemophora minimella". UKMoths. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
edit