Lilac moth
| Lilac moth | ||||||||||||
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Lilac moth ( Gracillaria syringella ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Gracillaria syringella | ||||||||||||
| ( Fabricius , 1794) |
The Lilac Motte ( Gracillaria syring ella , Syn. : Xanthospilapterix syring ella , Caloptilia syring ella ) is a very common small butterfly of the family of moths (Gracillariidae). The caterpillars gnaw on the leaves of ash, lilac and privet and later roll them up like a bag.
Appearance
The larvae are up to 7 mm long and are greenish-yellow in color. The moth is brown and white and has two antennae pointing outwards. At rest the legs are spread apart and the front wings form a roof. The wingspan is 10 to 13 mm.
Flight time
The moths are nocturnal. They are mainly to be found in May, when they fly around the forage plants of their caterpillars at dusk . The flight times are in spring from April to June and in summer from July to August.
Way of life
The caterpillars penetrate the leaf through the underside of the egg and collectively begin to mince the leaf . The lilac moth caterpillar mines tunnels in the leaves of the host plant and often a large mine filled with larvae and excrement. Altarven roll one or more leaves with a spider thread into a bag or a leaf wrap and then gnaw off the top of the leaf together. Thin filaments can be seen. At night, the caterpillars change leaves and begin to roll up new leaves together, rolling the underside inward. The caterpillars pupate on the leaf or in the litter. The caterpillars form a white web. Pupae have also been seen on trunks and in the leaf wrap. The moths lay their eggs in a small row on the underside of the leaves along the leaf veins. Usually there are two generations. In warmer areas there can be three generations per year. The larva survives the winter as a pupa in the ground.
food
The main food plant is the lilac ( Syringa ), but the larva also eats other genera such as Privet ( Ligustrum ), Spindle Tree ( Euonymus ), Ash ( Fraxinus ), Forsythia ( Forsythia ), Deutzia ( Deutzia ), Snowberry ( Symphoricarpos ) and Snowball ( Viburnum) ).
Harmful effect
The damage pattern of leaf miners, which appear with two generations, is different. The first generation eats gang and space mines, the second generation rolls up the leaves from the tip like a bag and scrapes away the surface of the leaves. They eat the leafy green, you can then separate the upper and lower skin. Leaf deformations and corresponding brown discolorations as well as optical impairments occur. Severely infected leaves fall off. If the infestation is severe, the crowns of younger trees turn brown completely. Some plants sprout again, but suffer a loss of growth, especially if the feeding continues in midsummer. With infestation over several years, the death of individual ash trees has also been observed.
Combat
Mainly one fights with neem injection. Infested leaf parts can also be cut out and destroyed. The winter spray is done with white oil. The fall leaves with caterpillars and pupae should be removed.
Web links
- www.lepiforum.de Taxonomy, photos, food list with species names
- Gracillaria syringella at Fauna Europaea
- Ian Kimber: Guide to the moths of Great Britain and Ireland (English)