''Elegia similella'' 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

Pyralidae The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyra ...

. It was described by

Johann Leopold Theodor Friedrich Zincken Julius Leopold Theodor Friedrich Zincken or ZinkenDr. Jul. Leop Theod. Friedr. Zinken genannt Sommer (1757D. A. M. Beitrag zur Insecten-fauna von Java ''Nova Acta Physico-Medica'' also Sommer (15 April 1770 in Braunschweig – 8 February 1856 in B ...

in 1818 and is known from most of Europe. The habitat consists of old, mature woodland and parkland. 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 19–22 mm. They are on wing from June to July and are usually found high up in the trees. The larvae feed on oaks (''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ' ...

'' species).

References

External links

Phycitini Moths described in 1818 Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johann Leopold Theodor Friedrich Zincken {{Phycitini-stub