''Metzneria aestivella'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

of the family

Gelechiidae The Gelechiidae are a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the family's taxonomy has been subject to considerable d ...

. It is found in most of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, except

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, Lithuania,

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

. The habitat consists of dry, sunny areas with low-growing herbaceous plants. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...

is 11–15 mm. The terminal joint of palpi slender, 2/3 of second. Forewings pale are ochreous, more or less wholly suffused with reddish-ochreous ; margins and veins partly marked with fuscous lines. Hindwings are grey. The larva is whitish ; head and plate of 2 blackish. Adults are similar to ''

Metzneria lappella ''Metzneria lappella'', the burdock seedhead moth or burdock seed moth, is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. Distribution This species is present in most of Europe and it is widely distributed throughout the Palaearctic region, northwards to the ...

'' and ''

Metzneria metzneriella ''Metzneria metzneriella'' is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It is widely distributed throughout Europe, as well as Turkey and southern Siberia. The habitat consists of dry pastures and calcareous soils. The wingspan is 14–19 mm. ...

'' but lack the black discal spot on the forewing. Adults are on wing from June to July. Larvae can be found in winter and spring in old flowers of ''

Carlina vulgaris ''Carlina vulgaris'', the carline thistle, is a plant species of the genus ''Carlina ''Carlina'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is distributed from Madeira and the Canary Islands across Europe and northern Africa to ...

'', ''

Pyrethrum corymbosum ''Pyrethrum'' was a genus of several Old World plants now classified as ''Chrysanthemum'' or '' Tanacetum'' which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum continues to be used as a common name for plants formerly inc ...

'' and ''

Carlina acaulis ''Carlina acaulis'', the stemless carline thistle, dwarf carline thistle, or silver thistle, is a perennial dicotyledonous flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to alpine regions of central and southern Europe. The specific name ...

''. Full-grown larvae reach a length of 8–9 mm. They have a cream-coloured body. The colour of the head varies from dark-brown to red-brown. Pupation takes place in mid-May, usually outside of the flower seeds.microlepidoptera.nl

Subspecies

*''Metzneria aestivella aestivella'' *''Metzneria aestivella dichroa'' Walsingham, 1908 (Canary Islands)

References

Moths described in 1839 Metzneria Moths of Europe Insects of Turkey {{Anomologinae-stub