Acompsia cinerella

Acompsia cinerella, the ash-coloured sober, is a small lepidopteran species of the twirler moth family (Gelechiidae). It is the type species of the genus Acompsia, once assigned to the subfamily Anacampsinae but generally placed in the Dichomeridinae. The species was first described by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759.

Specimen from North Wales

Acompsia cinerella
Upperside
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Gelechiidae
Genus:
Acompsia
Species:
A. cinerella
Binomial name
Acompsia cinerella
(Clerck, 1759) [1]
Synonyms
  • Phalaena cinerella Clerck, 1759
  • Phalaena murinella Scopoli, 1763
  • Tinea ardeliella Hübner, 1817
  • Recurvaria cinerea Haworth, 1828
  • Lita spodiella Treitschke, 1833

Distribution

This species can be found in most of Europe, except for Portugal and Iceland.[1]

Habitat

These moths inhabit a variety of areas, preferably with rich vegetation or bushes.[2]

Description

Acompsia cinerella has a wingspan of 16–19 mm. These moths have long upwardly-curved labial palps. The forewings show a brownish colour, without any marking.[3] This species is rather similar to Helcystogramma rufescens.[4]

Biology

There are two generations per year, as it is a bivoltine species. Adults are on wing from May to September. The larvae feed on moss present on trunks of broad leaves trees, often at the base of the tree.[3][5][6]

Bibliography
  • Erstbeschreibung: Clerck, C. (1759): Icones Insectorum rariorum Cum Nominibus eorum trivialibus, locisqve e C. LinnaeiArch. R. et Eqv. Aur. Syst. Nat. allegatis. Sectio Prima: [8 unpaginierte Textseiten], pl. 1-16. Holmiae. — Digitalisat der Bibliothèque nationale de France.
  • Lectotypus-Festlegung: Robinson, G. S. & E. Schmidt Nielsen (1983): The Microlepidoptera described by Linnaeus and Clerck. — Systematic Entomology 8: 191-242.

References
  1. Fauna Europaea
  2. Nature Spot
  3. Kimber, Ian. "35.026 BF855 Acompsia cinerella (Clerck, 1759)". UKMoths. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  4. "35.026 [B&F: 0855] Acompsia cinerella (Clerck, 1759)". Hantsmoths. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  5. "LOT Moths and Butterflies". Archived from the original on 2017-09-14. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  6. Keys to the Insects of the European Part of the USSR.: Lepidoptera. Part II


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