Ethmia pusiella
| Ethmia pusiella | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Ethmiidae (disputed) |
| Genus: | Ethmia |
| Species: | E. pusiella |
| Binomial name | |
| Ethmia pusiella (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Numerous, see text | |
Ethmia pusiella is a moth of the family Ethmiidae, which is sometimes included in Elachistidae or Oecophoridae as a subfamily. It occurs throughout Europe and eastwards to the Tien Shan mountains of eastern Central Asia.[1]
The wingspan is 19 to 20 millimetres (0.75 to 0.79 in).
The caterpillars feed on Common Gromwell (Lithospermum officinale) and Pulmonaria officinalis. They have also been recorded to be myrmecophilous.[2]
Taxonomy and systematics
E. pusiella is the type species of the proposed genera Anesychia and Melanoleuca, which are nowadays considered junior synonyms of Ethmia. If considered separate from Ethmia, the senior synonym Anesychia must be used.[1]
Two subspecies are accepted nowadays:[1]
- E. p. pusiella – western populations, east to Ural Mountains and Asia Minor
- E. p. deletella – eastern populations, Central Asia and Tien Shan
In earlier times, E. candidella and E. fumidella were considered varieties of E. pusiella.[1]
Junior synonyms of E. pusiella are:[1]
- Ethmia deletella de Lattin, 1963
- Ethmia lithospermella (Hübner, 1789)
- Ethmia scalacella (Kühn, 1777)
- Phalaena (Tinea) pusiella Linnaeus, 1758
- Tinea lithospermella Hübner, 1789
- Tinea scalacella Kühn, 1777
Footnotes
References
- Grabe, Albert (1942): Eigenartige Geschmacksrichtungen bei Kleinschmetterlingsraupen ["Strange tastes among micromoth caterpillars"]. Zeitschrift des Wiener Entomologen-Vereins 27: 105-109 [in German]. PDF fulltext
- Savela, Markku (2003): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms – Ethmia. Version of 2003-DEC-29. Retrieved 2010-APR-21.