Cosmopterix schmidiella
Cosmopterix schmidiella
Cosmopterix schmidiella is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of the splendor butterfly ( Cosmopterigidae ).
- 5.1 Notes and references
Features
The moths reach a wingspan 9-10 mm. The head is golden metallic. The antennae are dark brown and have a subapical and apical portion, each with about six white segments. The two white sections are separated by about 10 dark brown segments. The thorax shining dark brown and has a golden metallic centerline. The tegulae are golden. The drawing of the front wing similar to that of Cosmopterix ziegler ella, but differs by the uninterrupted, silvery and slightly purple tinted hemline. She is on the fringe scales at the apex white. The hind wings are gray-brown.
In the males the right brachium is spatulate and rotated. Distal it ends in a sharp tip with subapical teeth. It is about three times as long as the left brachium. The Valven are narrow at the base and rounded. The top margin is strongly concave distally, the lower edge is slightly concave. The Caudalrand is strongly convex. The Valvellae are near the base narrow, curved in the middle and have a flat hump at the top. They taper apically and have a rounded apex. The aedeagus is bottle-shaped, the rear portion of a flange.
In females, the rear edge of the 7th sternite in the middle has a bulging. The eighth segment is about twice as wide as long. The ostium is rectangular with rounded corners and semi-circular sclerotized edges. The sterigma is elongated oval and has a broad central ridge. The ductus bursae is slightly shorter than the corpus bursae. The corpus bursae is annularly wrinkled and provided with two equal-sized crescent Signa.
Similar Species
Cosmopterix schmidiella differs from the similar nature Cosmopterix orichalcea by the single, white, subapical sensor section and the golden glossy, slanted outwardly extending napkin to the front wing base.
Dissemination
Cosmopterix schmidiella is native to Central and Southwest Europe. In England the species is extinct. In the east, the range extends to the north of Iran. In Mongolia, Korea and Japan in the nominate subspecies is represented by the Cosmopterix schmidiella mongoliella.
Biology
The caterpillars develop on Fence Vetch (Vicia sepium ), pea vetch (Vicia pisiformis ), mountain - pea ( Lathyrus linifolius ), blackness Santander pea ( Lathyrus niger) and spring pea ( Lathyrus vernus ). They live between August and September in a big square mine on the underside of leaves. The mine often occupies the entire leaf surface, the parenchyma is completely eaten. Dormant larvae are in a cocoon under the midrib of the leaf and are difficult to observe. Several larvae can develop on a plant. The caterpillars overwinter in an elongated, semi-transparent white cocoon. They pupate in May. The moths fly from late May to mid-June, according to another source from June to July.
System
There are known two subspecies:
- Cosmopterix schmidiella schmidiella Frey, 1856
- Cosmopterix schmidiella mongoliella Sinev, 1980