Depressaria chaerophylli

Depressaria chaerophylli is a moth of the family Depressariidae.

Depressaria chaerophylli
Depressaria chaerophylli.
Mounted specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Depressariidae
Genus:
Depressaria
Species:
D. chaerophylli
Binomial name
Depressaria chaerophylli
Zeller, 1839[1]
Synonyms
  • Depressaria rarissimella Krulikovsky, 1907

Distribution

This species can be found in most of Europe, the Caucasus, Libya and Palestine.[1][2]

Habitat

These moths mainly inhabit woodland edges, hedgerows and old lanes.[3]

Description
Caterpillar in the larval web

Depressaria chaerophylli has a wingspan of 19–22 mm.[3][4] The forewings show a reddish brown ground colour, with scattered dark brown dots along the edges. On the thorax there is a large whitish area.

This species is rather similar to Depressaria depressana and Depressaria pimpinellae.[3]

Biology

Adults are on wing from July to August,[4] and after hibernating, until April in one generation per year.[4]

The larvae are pale yellow, with a pale orange head, with well marked brown lozenges and two brown side lines on the back,

They feed on Chaerophyllum species (hence the species name), including Chaerophyllum temulum, Chaerophyllum bulbosum and Chaerophyllum aureum. They live in between the flowers of the host plant, which they spin together with silk, forming a larval web in the inflorescence.[3]

References
  1. Fauna Europaea
  2. "Depressaria Haworth, 1811" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  3. Hants Moths
  4. UKMoths


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