Mompha meridionella
Mompha meridionella is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of Frans moths ( Momphidae ). The name describes the southern distribution of the species in Europe.
- 4.1 Notes and references
Features
The moths reach a wingspan of 11-12 millimeters. The head is mottled light gray and has a glossy white forehead ( frons ) and an ocher to gray vertex (vertex ). The neck collar is ocher to gray. The antennae are dark gray and indistinct pale ringed, mainly in the basal half. The first antennal segment is dorsally gray-brown and whitish ventrally. The labial palps are white. The first segment is very short, the second segment is as long as the third one. The segments are ventrally and light gray on the sides. The third segment has a narrow basal dark gray ring in the middle of an irregular ocher ring and a blackish tip. Thorax and tegulae are brown and gray on the back with some light gray scales. The legs are dark gray and white banded at the segment ends. The tibiae are in the middle and at the end of white banded. The tarsi are white at the segment ends. The Spurs are white.
The front wings are gray-brown and have a dark gray outer area. A large, light gray spot is located at the wing base, it is strongly mottled gray-brown and does not reach the wing inner edge. A white, slightly extending obliquely outwards binding is located in front of the wing center. It is not enough to Costa loaders, expands the vane inner edge and is strongly speckled gray-brown, especially in the dorsal half. A white, sloping inwards binding is located at 3 /4 of the forewing length. It is slightly narrower in the middle. Black lines exist in the anal fold, in the middle region between the two binding and in the apical region behind the outer bandage. The black lines are framed by russet strokes or shed. Three small tufts with slightly protruding scales can be found in the vicinity of the wing inner edge. The first clump is 1 /5 of the forewing length, the other two each on the outside of the white bandages. The median tuft is externally edged russet. In the apical region of two or three white, gray mottled brown lines and a white, gray-brown mottled spot located at the inner edge of wing. The fringe scales are gray and lighter at the top. You have two dark transverse lines. The hind wings are brownish gray and have gray Frans shed. The abdomen is dorsally gray, the segments are mottled brownish front and rear have a light gray band. Ventral segments have rear wide, glossy white bands. The after tuft is mixed white and brown.
In the male the uncus is slim. He widens distally and has a small hook-shaped tip. The cucullus is broad at the base, narrowing slightly in the middle part and then widens to a rounded point. The saccule tapers abruptly to a blunt tip, which is staffed with two teeth. The Gnathos is wide and flattened distally. The Anellus lobes are small and rounded and bristles at the tip. The aedeagus is provided with a long cornutus and a group of five short and stout Cornuti. Mompha meridionella differs from Mompha sturnipennella by the more parallel sides of the cucullus, the broad and abruptly tapered tip of the saccule and the lack of a group slimmer Cornuti.
In the females the lamella antevaginalis consists of two wedge-shaped sclerites and a lying in between very large pear-shaped sclerotization. The sinus vaginalis is large and cup-shaped. The ductus bursae is short and almost completely provided with a large sclerotized plate. The corpus bursae is narrowed in front and has in the middle of the back half of a deep notch. This notch is surrounded by some with teeth occupied spots and two sickle-shaped signals. The large, pear-shaped sclerotization of Lamella antevaginalis, the bursae strongly sclerotized plate of the ductus and the deep notch in the middle of the ductus bursae are characteristic of the species.
Similar Species
Mompha meridionella is closely related to Mompha sturnipennella and differs by more brownish gray color and the stronger rust-brown line marking the black lines on the fore wings.
Dissemination
Mompha meridionella occurs in the north of the Caucasus and Greece.
Biology
Food plant of the track is not known. It is thought that the caterpillars cause when eating plant galls on willowherb species ( Epilobium ). Moths in late May and late July in Greece have been caught in the Caucasus.