Metendothenia atropunctana
| Metendothenia atropunctana | |
|---|---|
| .jpg)  | |
| Scientific classification   | |
| 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.