''Caryocolum crypticum'' 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 widely separated localities in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Switzerland and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

. The habitat consists of xerophilous steppes and rocky areas with sparse vegetation from about 500 to 1,300 meters. 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 10.5–14 mm. The forewings are blackish brown, mottled with some rusty brown, particularly in the proximal half. There are supplementary black spots in the fold and in the cell. The costal and tornal spot are small, cream and separated. The hindwings are light grey. Adults are on wing from early July to September. The larvae feed on ''

Silene otites ''Silene otites'', called Spanish catchfly, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Silene'', native to Europe and the Transcaucasus area, and introduced to Xinjiang in China. It varies its floral odors to attract mosquitoes and moths at n ...

'' and '' Silene nutans''. They feed in the stem of their host plant. Larvae can be found in early spring.

Etymology

The species name refers to the cryptic morphology of the species and is derived from the Latinized adjective ''crypticus''.DNA barcoding as a screening tool for cryptic diversity: an example from Caryocolum, with description of a new species (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae)
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References

Moths described in 2014 crypticum Moths of Europe {{Caryocolum-stub