Monochroa cf. hornigi

(Staudinger, 1883)

  • Subfamily: Anomologinae, Anomologini
  • Wingspan: 9-12 mm
  • Flight period: Jun - Jul
  • Spread: Uncommon
  • Host plants: Polygonaceae

Information

The Monochroa hornigi is a moth of the Gelechiidae family, with a wingspan of 9-12 mm.
It is found in most of Europe with the exception of Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and much of the Balkan Peninsula and European Russia. In Italy he is absent from Sicily. *
It is also present in western and south-eastern Siberia, Korea and Japan (Hokkaido). **

The background color of the front wings of the Monochroa hornigi is shaded dark gray white, with two black stigmata, and obliquely a narrow triangular ocher / cream spot about halfway along the costa, on the apical third of the costa there are other cream / ocher spots. There are three tiny spots on the costa between the expensive scrub and the apex.
The hind wings are dark gray, with an elongated and darker appendage at the apex, strongly fringed.

The curved palps are brown streaked with pale ocher, the head and thorax are the background color of the front wings, as well as the abdomen which has a lighter color on the joints of the segments. ***

The larva is yellow / orange in color with small black dots on each segment. The head is black, the prothoracic shield is brown / blackish.

The larvae of the Monochroa hornigi pierce the stem; outwardly nothing betrays their presence. In Ruben Meert's experience, the species lives, always solitary, in the vicinity of a node. ****
The larva is active throughout the autumn; towards November it leaves the tunnel, then lies curled up in a semi-transparent hibernacle, covered with reddish brown residual material, yarn outside the barrel.

The larvae feed on Polygonum species, including Polygonum lapathifolium and Polygonum aviculare.


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** http://ftp.funet.fi/
*** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/
**** Plant Parasites of Europe leafminers, galls and fungi - https://bladmineerders.nl/

Monochroa hornigi
Monochroa hornigi
Monochroa hornigi
Monochroa hornigi
Monochroa hornigi
Monochroa hornigi
Monochroa hornigi
Monochroa hornigi
Monochroa hornigi