Cosmopterix pararufella
| Cosmopterix pararufella | ||||||||||||
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| Cosmopterix pararufella | ||||||||||||
| Riedl , 1976 |
Cosmopterix pararufella is a butterfly ( moth ) from the family of cosmopterigidae (Cosmopterigidae).
features
The moths reach a wingspan of 11 millimeters. Cosmopterix pararufella is very similar to Cosmopterix coryphaea and differs only slightly: The white dorsal line begins at the base of the wing and the yellow band has a slightly larger extension towards the apex .
In the males, the right brachium is very narrow at the base and about twice as long as the left. It widens into a fork-shaped and heavily sclerotized process. The blades are rounded. The upper edge is concave , the lower one is almost straight, the caudal edge is strongly convex. The valvellae are short and curved at right angles in the middle. They are parallel-walled and taper apically to a blunt point. The aedeagus is can-shaped. The rear part widens slightly distally and has a flange ventrally . Cosmopterix pararufella differs from Cosmopterix coryphaea by the fork-shaped process of the right brachium, the rounded valves and the slimmer valvellae.
In females, the rear end of the 7th sternite is arched. The 8th segment is slightly wider than it is long. The ostium is narrow and has broad semicircular sclerotization. The sterigma is wide and tapers slightly towards the ostium. The ductus bursae is slightly shorter than the corpus bursae and has a sclerotized ring distally. The corpus bursae is oval and has two rounded signs that are sickle-shaped and sclerotized.
distribution
Cosmopterix pararufella is native to Spain ( Almería ), Corsica , Greece , Crete , Cyprus and North Africa.
biology
The caterpillars develop on sugar cane ( Saccharum officinarum ) and apparently also on some locally occurring grasses . The females lay the eggs one by one on the outside of the leaf center rib. The young caterpillars eat their way into the central rib of the leaf, resulting in brown feeding tunnels that are visible on the other side of the leaf as elongated spots. The caterpillars cause the leaves to snap off slightly, turn yellow and soon dry up. The mine is initially line-shaped and then develops into a space mine. At the end of the mine, the caterpillars pupate in a chamber. Above it is a circular opening through which the moths hatch. In Egypt, the caterpillars mine in sugar cane leaves from April to May and from September to October and have become a pest in the cultivation of sugar cane. The infestation is 12.3 to 15.8 percent at the end of May and reaches a maximum of 28.5 percent in June. The species forms two generations a year, the moths fly from May to June and in September.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c J. C. Koster, S. Yu. Sinev: Momphidae, Batrachedridae, Stathmopodidae, Agonoxenidae, Cosmopterigidae, Chrysopeleiidae . In: P. Huemer, O. Karsholt, L. Lyneborg (eds.): Microlepidoptera of Europe . 1st edition. tape 5 . Apollo Books, Stenstrup 2003, ISBN 87-88757-66-8 , pp. 118 (English).
- ↑ Cosmopterix pararufella in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved January 15, 2012
- ↑ Infestation features of the leaf midrib miner, Cosmopterix pararufella Riedl (Lepidoptera: Cosmopterigidae), a pest of sugarcane in Egypt. Samir Awad El-Serwy, accessed January 15, 2012 .