Haplochrois theae
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| Haplochrois theae | ||||||||||||
| ( Kuznetsov , 1916) |
Haplochrois theae is a butterfly ( moth ) fromthe grass leaf miner family (Elachistidae).
features
The moths reach a wingspan of 9 to 12 millimeters. The head is ocher gray and gray-brown behind. The antennae are ocher gray, darkly ringed and lightly serrated. Thorax and tegulae are gray-brown. The forewings are gray-brown and a little darker at the base. There are two dark gray lines on the forewing, the first is in the costal fold in front of the wing center, the second is at 3/4 of the forewing length in the wing center. There are dark gray spots at the apex . The fringed scales are tinted gray and ocher.
In the male, the gnathos with the knob-shaped ends is half as long as the tegumen . The blades are almost circular. The anellus lobes are connected ventrally . They are small, shield-shaped and have two small spots with fairly large thorns. The saccus is slender and tapers distally . It is 3/4 as long as the tegumen. The aedeagus is straight and spherical at the base.
In females, the apophyses are very short and hardly curved. The genital plate is divided into two lateral triangular parts. The ductus bursae is indented in front of the confluence with the corpus bursae. The corpus bursae is oval and, like the anterior part of the ductus bursae, very wrinkled. The sign is straight, horn-shaped and studded with thorns.
Similar species
Haplochrois theae can be distinguished from other species of the genus by the small wingspan and the two dark front wing marks .
distribution
The species is native to western Transcaucasia and Asia Minor . In the east the distribution area extends to China . The original distribution area was probably Southeast Asia, from where H. theae spread together with the expanding tea plantations at the end of the 19th century.
biology
The caterpillars develop on tea bushes ( Camellia sinensis ) and camellias ( Camellia japonica ). The species is a serious pest in tea plantations. From late summer to autumn, the young caterpillars make small spotted mines in leaves. Up to 40 mines were found in a leaf. The caterpillars overwinter and leave the mine in the second half of March of the coming year to feed on young shoots. Feeding tunnels are created in the marrow . In the second half of April you can recognize the affected shoots by the withered terminal leaves. Before pupation, the caterpillar gnaws an exit hole and closes it with a silk web. The caterpillars pupate in the feeding tunnel from late May to late July. The species forms one generation per year, the moths fly from June to August.
Systematics
The following synonyms are known from the literature:
- Parametriotes theae Kuznetsov , 1916
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e 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. 84 (English).
- ↑ Sjaak (JC) Koster, Hikmet Özbek, Irfan Aslan, Twan (ALM) Rutten (2004): Blastodacna libanotica Diakonoff, 1939 - a pest on pear in Turkey (Agonoxenidae). Nota lepidopterologica 27 (1): pages 33-40
- ↑ C. Lopez-Vaamonde et al. (2010): Lepidoptera. Chapter 11. In: A. Roques et al. (Ed.) Alien terrestrial arthropods of Europe. BioRisk 4 (2): pp. 603–668. doi : 10.3897 / biorisk.4.50