''Prolita variabilis'' 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

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 Taxonomic rank, superfamily Gelechioidea, and the family's taxonomy (biology), taxonomy ...

. It was described by

August Busck Augustus Busck (February 18, 1870 in Randers, DenmarkBUSCK, Augustus
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and

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. 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 22–27 mm. The forewings are light greyish yellow, slightly brownish toward the tip and with blackish brown longitudinal lines from the base to the apex, following the veins and becoming heavier and more blackish toward the apex. Three short more pronounced heavy black longitudinal lines independent of the others are very conspicuous and are found, although modified, in all the varieties. The first and shortest at the base just within the dorsal margin, the second on the fold, also starting more or less clearly from the base, but reaching its characteristic thickness and tone outside the first line and ending as a heavy line just before the middle of the wing, though after continued as one of the general thin lines to the dorsal apical edge. The third line is midway between the fold and the costal edge and begins at the middle of the wing and reaches to the end of the cell, also continued as one of the fainter lines from the base to the apex. The hindwings are yellowish fuscous. The larvae have been reported feeding on '' Ericameria linearifolia''.Bug Guide
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References

Moths described in 1903 Prolita {{Gelechiini-stub