''Prochoreutis myllerana'', Miller’s nettle-tap or small metal-mark, 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 Choreutidae found in Asia and Europe. Miller's nettle-tap was first described by

Johan Christian Fabricius Johan Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoology, zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, an ...

in 1794 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 ...

found in Sweden.

Distribution

This species can be found in most of Europe, east into

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. It is also known from China (

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

and Japan (

Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

Description

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 ...

of ''Prochoreutis myllerana'' can reach 10–14 mm. Forewings are variegated brown, with a dark brown median fascia showing white dusting. These moths are characterized by 2 + 2 white dots on the upper part of the wings, near the edge. ''Prochoreutis myllerana'' is very similar to '' Prochoreutis sehestediana'', but in the latter the white dusting extends more than half way towards the costa of the forewings and the mentioned 2 + 2 white dots are missing. The apex of ''P. sehestediana'' is more pointed. Moreover in ''P. myllerana'', the head of a larva is uniformly pale brown, contrary to ''Prochoreutis sehedestediana''.

Biology

Adults are on wing from May to early September. There are probably three generations per year. The monophagous larvae feed on common skullcap (''

Scutellaria galericulata ''Scutellaria galericulata'', the common skullcap, marsh skullcap or hooded skullcap, is a hardy perennial herb native to northern areas of the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe, Asia, and almost all of Canada. It is a member of the mint fami ...

'') and lesser skullcap (''

Scutellaria minor ''Scutellaria minor'', the lesser skullcap, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. Description ''Scutellaria minor'' grows to tall, with narrowly ovate leaves arranged oppositely. Flowers are borne in the leaf axil, axils of t ...

''). The young larvae mine the lower leaves of their host plant, older larvae live free among spun leaves. There are also records on white dead-nettle ('' Lamium album'') and red dead-nettle (''

Lamium purpureum ''Lamium purpureum'', known as red dead-nettle, purple dead-nettle, or purple archangel, is an annual herbaceous flowering plant native to Europe and Asia. Varieties: * ''Lamium purpureum'' var. ''hybridum'' (Vill.) Vill. (synonym: ''Lamium hybr ...

''), but these need confirmation. Full grown larvae can be found in June, and in July and August. The pupa forms in a dense white, spindle-shaped cocoon (circa 10 mm long), in a folded leaf. Probably these moths hibernate as adults.

References

External links

Lepiforum.de

*
Prochoreutis myllerana
' -

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...

– Bibliography {{Taxonbar, from=Q7247398 Prochoreutis Leaf miners Moths described in 1794 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius