Leek moth
Leek moth ( Acrolepiopsis assectella ), preparation
The leek moth ( Acrolepiopsis assectella ) is a butterfly of the family of Acrolepiidae. The species is in agriculture as a pest and can cause in years with dry and hot summers major damage to onion crops.
- 6.1 Literature
Features
The moths reach a wingspan of about 14 millimeters. They have variable dirty light gray, brown and black colored front wing on which the center depending on the inner edge of a characteristic, white, wedge-shaped spot sits. When folded, the two wings patches forming a triangle, the top is then easily recognizable. The hind wings are light -colored to dark gray colored.
The caterpillars are seven to eight millimeters long, are light greenish and have a brown head capsule.
Occurrence
The animals come throughout Europe and Asia, east to Japan before, but were also influenced by the people in other parts of the world, such as in Hawaii, introduced. They live mainly in fields and in gardens.
Way of life
The crepuscular and nocturnal animals can be easily attracted by artificial light at night.
Flight times and caterpillars
The moths fly in two generations of May to October. The second generation overwinter as imagines and also fly in the following spring. The caterpillars are found from late May to June and from August to October.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars nate in the leaves and stems of different species of onion (Allium ), such as in onion (Allium cepa ), garlic (Allium sativum ), chives (Allium schoenoprasum) or leek (Allium porrum ). Only very rarely they are found also in the flowers, as they contain saponin compounds that inhibit the growth of the animals.
Development
The females glue their cream-colored eggs with a transparent secretion especially on the whorls of leaves of their food plants. Preference is given to young, up to about a week old leaves are eaten but then even older, up to two months old leaves. Attack by the caterpillar can be seen on the plant through small, bright spots and stripes. Also, the manure is ejected through the hole by which the caterpillar has eaten into the plant. A total of five stages caterpillars are alive. After pupation takes place on the outside of the food plant or close to parts of plants or on the ground in a light gray, very coarse mesh and mesh-like weave.
Enemies
A natural enemy of the leek moth is the ichneumon Diadromus pulchellus, whose larvae develop as parasitoids in the caterpillars of moths.