''Eriocrania sangii'', the large birch purple, 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 Eriocraniidae found in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and described by John Henry Wood in 1891. The moth can be found flying in sunshine around birch trees and the larvae feed on birch leaves.

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 9–14 mm.

Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854 – 31 March 1938) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern microlepidoptera systematics. Life and work Ed ...

gives this description: head whitish-grey-ochreous, more or less mixed with dark fuscous. Antennae 1/2. Forewings elongate, bronzy-purple, with more or less numerous pale shining golden irregular spots: a subtriangular pale golden dorsal spot before tornus, reaching half across wing; cilia bronzy-grey, on dorsal spot ochreous-whitish; 9 absent. Hindwings bronzy-grey, towards apex purplish-tinged. Larva grey; head black, centre and mouth brown; 2 with two groups of black spots: in brownish blotch in leaves of birch. ;Similar species ''E. sangii'' looks similar to ''E. semipurpurella'' and can only be told apart by microscopy of the genitalia. The moth can be found flying in sunshine, around birch trees, in March and April. In dull weather they rest on twigs.<* ;Ovum Eggs are laid in a leaf bud of birch. ;Larvae The grey larvae mine the leaves of birch (''

Betula A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

'' species). The mine starts as a short gallery, close to a leaf margin and develops into a large, white, full depth blotch.

Frass Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter. Definition and etymology ''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...

is in long threads. The leaf mines can be found from the end of March until May and when vacated, the mine shrivels and withers away. Larvae feed on downy birch (''

Betula pendula ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family (biology), family Betulaceae, native plant, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in so ...

''), silver birch (''

Betula pubescens ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

''). ;Pupa Pupation is in the soil, within a tough silken cocoon. File:02.008 BF12 Eriocrania sangii, female (8682965057).jpg , Female File:02.008 BF12 Eriocrania sangii, male (2453317799).jpg , Male File:Eriocrania sangii, Dolbebin, North Wales, April 2016 - Flickr - janetgraham84.jpg , Genitalia (male) File:Eriocrania sangii, Nantlle, North Wales, May 2016 - Flickr - janetgraham84.jpg , Larva

Etymology

The moth was described by Woods from a

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

found in Tarrington,

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

, England, naming the moth, ''Micropteryx sangii''. The

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

'' Micropteryx'' was raised by the German

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796–1805), a founding work of entomology. Scientific career Hübner was the author of '' ...

in 1825 and comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

for ''mikros'', little and ''pterux'', a wing. The moth is now in the genus ''

Eriocrania ''Eriocrania'' is a Palearctic genus of moth of the family Eriocraniidae. The moths are Diurnality, diurnal, flying in sunshine, and the larvae are leaf miners, forming blotches in leaves. Description The moths are diurnal flying in sunshine, at ...

'', which was raised by

Philipp Christoph Zeller Philipp Christoph Zeller (8 April 1808 – 27 March 1883) was a German entomologist. Zeller was born at Steinheim an der Murr, Württemberg, two miles from Marbach, the birthplace of Schiller. The family moved to Frankfurt (Oder) where Ph ...

in 1851. ''Erion'' means wool and ''kranion'' means the upper part of the head, which refers to the hair-scales on the top of the head. The specific name ''sangii'' is named after the

lepidopterist Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the two superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, the r ...

J Sang (1828–1887) who was based in the north-east of England.

References

External links

Swedish Moths

Lepiforum de
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1354913 sangii Leaf miners Moths described in 1891 Moths of Europe Taxa named by John Henry Wood