Jump to content

Metendothenia atropunctana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Metendothenia atropunctana
Scientific classification Edit this 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

[edit]
  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Metendothenia atropunctana (Zetterstedt, 1839)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 17 January 2021.