''Birds-foot trefoils'' (''
Lotus'' species) are used as food plants by the
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
...
e of some
Lepidoptera species including:
;
Monophagous
A generalist species is able to thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and can make use of a variety of different resources (for example, a heterotroph with a varied diet). A specialist species can thrive only in a narrow range of e ...
species which feed exclusively on ''Lotus'':
*''
Coleophora
''Coleophora'' is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Many authors ...
'' case-bearers:
:*''
C. discordella''
:*''
C. oriolella'' (feeds exclusively on ''
L. rectus'')
:*''
C. squamella'' (feeds exclusively on ''
L. cytisoides'')
*''
Plebejus idas lotis'' (lotus blue butterfly), a possibly extinct
gossamer-winged butterfly last recorded near
Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601. The county seat is Ukiah.
Mendocino County consists whol ...
, in 1983, is conjectured to have used ''
Lotus formosissimus'' as its larval food plant.
;
Polyphagous species which feed on ''Lotus'' among other plants:
*''
Chionodes
''Chionodes'' is a genus of moths of the family Gelechiidae. It is distributed throughout much of the world. The larvae of many species use the Douglas fir as a host plant.
Species
*The formosella species-group
**''Chionodes formosella''-complex ...
'' species
:*''
C. fumatella'' (recorded on ''
L. corniculatus'')
:*''
C. lugubrella''
*''
Coleophora accordella
''Coleophora accordella'' is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found in the United States, including California and Utah.
The larvae feed on the leaves of ''Hedysarum
''Hedysarum'' (sweetvetch) is a genus of the botanical family Fabace ...
'' (recorded on ''
L. scoparius'')
*
Flame
A flame (from Latin '' flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...
(''Axylia putris'')
*
Lime-speck pug
The lime-speck pug (''Eupithecia centaureata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a common species throughout the Palearctic region (where it is found in Europe, Central Asia, Mongolia, southern Siberia, eastern China (Guangdong) and Ta ...
(''Eupithecia centaureata'')
*
Northern deep-brown dart
The northern deep-brown dart (''Aporophyla lueneburgensis'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It was first described by Christian Friedrich Freyer in 1848 and it is found in northern and western Europe.
As the common name suggests, this spec ...
(''Aporophyla lueneburgensis'')
*
Six-spot burnet
The six-spot burnet (''Zygaena filipendulae'') is a day-flying moth of the family Zygaenidae.
Subspecies
*''Z. f. altapyrenaica'' Le Charles, 1950
*''Z. f. arctica'' Schneider, 1880
*''Z. f. balcanirosea'' Holik, 1943
*''Z. f. campaniae'' Re ...
(''Zygaena filipendulae'')
Notes
External links
*{{cite web , last1=Robinson , first1=Gaden S. , last2=Ackery , first2=Phillip R. , last3=Kitching , first3=Ian J. , last4=Beccaloni , first4=George W. , last5=Hernández , first5=Luis M. , name-list-style=amp , date=2010 , url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/hostplants/search/list.dsml?&PGenus=Lotus&sort=Family , title=Hostplant Genus: ''Lotus'' , website=HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants , publisher=
Natural History Museum, London
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
Lotus
+Lepidoptera