''Coleophora otidipennella'' 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 Coleophoridae found in Asia and Europe.

Description

The

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

is 10–12 mm. ''Coleophora'' species have narrow blunt to pointed forewings and a weakly defined tornus. The hindwings are narrow-elongate and very long-fringed. The upper surfaces have neither a discal spot nor transverse lines. Each abdomen segment of the abdomen has paired patches of tiny spines which show through the scales. The resting position is horizontal with the front end raised and the cilia give the hind tip a frayed and upturned look if the wings are rolled around the body. ''C. otidipennella'' characteristics include greyish appearance streaked with whitish-cream.It can only be reliably identified by dissection and microscopic examination of the genitalia.Emmet A.M., Langmaid J.R., Bland K.P., Corley M.G.V. & Razowski J, Coleophoridae in A. Maitland Emmet ed., 1996 '' The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland'' Volume 3 (Yponomeutidae to Elachistidae) Adults are on wing from May to June. The larvae feed on the seeds of rushes (''

Luzula ''Luzula'' is a genus of flowering plants in the rush family Juncaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species occurring throughout the world, especially in temperate regions, the Arctic, and higher elevation areas in the tropic ...

'' species), including field wood-rush ('' Luzula campestris'') and common woodrush ('' Luzula multiflora''). The larvae form a whitish or yellowish case.

Distribution

It is found in most of Europe, the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

, and the eastern

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The ...

References

External links

Swedish Moths

UKmoths
otidipennella Moths described in 1817 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Jacob Hübner {{Coleophoridae-stub