Biology:Metendothenia atropunctana

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Short description: Species of moth

Metendothenia atropunctana
Hedya atropunctana, North Wales, June 2014 (19682597935).jpg
Scientific classification edit
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

Wikidata ☰ Q11409841 entry