Metendothenia atropunctana | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Tortricidae |
Genus: | Metendothenia |
Species: | M. atropunctana |
Binomial name | |
Metendothenia atropunctana (Zetterstedt, 1839) | |
Metendothenia atropunctana is a moth belonging to the family Tortricidae. The species was first described by Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt in 1839.[1]
It is native to the Palearctic and Northern America.[2]
The wingspan is 14–17 mm. Like the species in the genus Hedya, in which it was previously placed, it resembles a bird dropping when it sits still, this gives it good protection. The thorax has a standing tuft of black hairs. The forewings are patterned in black-brown and are silver grey in the inner part, there is a square white spot at the costal edge, and the wing tip is white, in freshly hatched specimens it has a distinct pink tinge, but this eventually disappears. The hindwings are brown.
The larvae develop on the shoots Myrica gale , Betula and Salix spp.. It spins some leaves together into a pod. The pupa of the second generation overwinters in a cocoon amongst leaf-litter. The moth flies in May-June and from mid July till late August in a second generation.
References
- ↑ Beccaloni, G.; Scoble, M.; Kitching, I.; Simonsen, T.; Robinson, G.; Pitkin, B.; Hine, A.; Lyal, C., eds. (2003). "Metendothenia atropunctana". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Natural History Museum. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ↑ "Metendothenia atropunctana (Zetterstedt, 1839)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 17 January 2021.