''Caryocolum alsinella'' is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

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 Taxonomic rank, superfamily Gelechioidea, and the family's taxonomy (biology), taxonomy ...

. It is found throughout Europe It is also present in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

(including

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

). The length of the forewings is 4–5 mm.Differs from '' Caryocolum proxima'' as follows: forewings somewhat narrower, a distinctly marked black dot in disc before costal bar, posterior fascia not angulated, forming two direct opposite spots. Larva pale yellowish; head black; 2 red-brown, plate black. Adults have been recorded on wing from late June to late September. The larvae feed on ''

Arenaria montana ''Arenaria montana'', the mountain sandwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to mountainous regions of southwestern Europe, from the Pyrenees to Portugal. The Latin specific epithet ''montana'' refers to moun ...

'', ''

Cerastium arvense ''Cerastium arvense'' is a species of flowering plant in the Caryophyllaceae, pink family known by the common names field mouse-ear and field chickweed. It is a widespread species, occurring throughout Europe and North America, as well as parts o ...

'', ''

Cerastium diffusum ''Cerastium diffusum'', the fourstamen chickweed or sea mouse-ear, is a species of flowering plant in the pink and carnation family Caryophyllaceae. It is an annual herb, up to 30 cm.high, occurring in western Europe and northern Africa. It ...

'', '' Cerastium fontanum'', '' Cerastium semidecandrum'', '' Minuartia verna'', ''

Moehringia ''Moehringia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae.Volker Bittrich. 1993. "Caryophyllaceae" In: Klaus Kubitzki. ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants''. volume II, pages 206-236. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Heidelberg ...

'' and ''

Stellaria ''Stellaria'' is a genus of about 190 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution. Common names include starwort, stitchwort and chickweed. Description ''Stellaria'' species are relatively small ...

'' species. Young larvae

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun M ...

the leaves of their host plant.

References

Moths described in 1868 alsinella Moths of Europe Moths of Africa {{Caryocolum-stub