Haplochrois theae
Haplochrois theae is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of the grass leaf miner ( Elachistidae ).
- 5.1 Notes and references
Features
The moths reach a wingspan 9-12 mm. The head is gray and ocher- gray-brown back. The sensors are ocher- gray, dark curled and slightly serrated. Thorax and tegulae are gray-brown. The front wings are gray-brown and slightly darker at the base. On the forewing has two dark gray lines, the first is the Costalfalte forward of the wing center, the second is located at 3 /4 of the forewing length in the wing center. At the apex there are dark gray spots. The fringe scales are tinted gray and ocher.
In the males, the Gnathos with the knob -like ends is half as long as the Tegumen. The Valven are nearly circular. The Anellus - lobes are connected ventrally. They are small, shield -shaped and have two small spots with fairly large thorns. The sac is slender and tapers distally. It is 3/4 as long as the Tegumen. The aedeagus is straight and spherical at the base.
In females, the apophyses are very short and hardly bent. The genital plate is divided into two lateral triangular parts. The ductus bursae is indented before flowing into the corpus bursae. The corpus bursae is oval and as the front part of the ductus bursae strongly wrinkled. The Signum is, busy horn-shaped and with thorns.
Similar Species
Haplochrois theae can be distinguished from other species of the genus based on the low wing span and the two dark forewing times.
Dissemination
The species is native to the western Transcaucasia and Asia Minor. In the east, the range extends to China. The original habitat was probably Southeast Asia, where H. theae spread along with the expanding tea plantations at the end of the 19th century.
Biology
The caterpillars develop on tea bushes (Camellia sinensis) and Camellia (Camellia japonica). The species is a serious pest in tea plantations. From late summer to autumn produce the young caterpillars small spot mines in leaves. In this up to 40 mines found in a leaf. The caterpillars overwinter and leave in the second half of March of next year the mine to eat into young shoots. This insect holes are created in the market. In the second half of April, you can see the infested shoots means of the terminal withered leaves. Before pupation the caterpillar eats an exit hole and closes it with a silk cocoon. The caterpillars pupate from late May to late July in the burrow. It makes one generation a year, the moths fly from June to August.
System
From the literature, the following synonyms are known:
- Parametriotes theae Kuznetsov, 1916