Bryotropha domestica

• Subfamily: Anomologinae, Aristoteliini
• Wingspan: 12-13 mm
• Flight period: May - Aug
• Spread: Uncommon
• Host plants: Mosses

Information

The Bryotropha domestica is a moth of the Gelechiidae family, with a wingspan of 12-13 mm.
Distributed throughout Central Western Europe with the exception of Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, the Baltic States, Ukraine, Denmark, and the Scandinavian Peninsula. In Italy it is also found in the islands. *
It is also present in Cyprus, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, the Middle East, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

The background color of the front wings of the Bryotropha domestica is ocher with several black markings, dot-shaped: two at the attachment of the wing, one in the basal region, two sometimes joined in the disc region, another in the post-discal region, region in which the dark-colored scales disappear, forming a line perpendicular to the costa which separates the last third of the wing.
The costa of ocher color intensely sprinkled with black gray. The wing margin is fringed.
The hind wings are very light shiny gray, but darker towards the apex, strongly fringed. ***

The curved palps, the head and the thorax are ocher with splashes of black scales, the abdomen is ocher.

The larvae of Bryotropha domestica are described as yellowish in color, with three reddish dorsal stripes, and some black points on each segment and sparse hair. Black prothoracic shield and head, feed from inside a silk gallery where nymphosis takes place.

Adult moths fly in a single generation from mid-May to early August, and are easily attracted to light.

The larvae feed on various mosses that grow on the walls.


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/ -
*** Karsholt, Ole & Twan Rutten, 2005, the genus Bryotropha Heinemann in the western palaearctic (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 148: 77-207 - https://www.nev.nl/tve/pdf/te0148077.pdf