Batia lambdella

• Subfamily: Oecophorinae, Oecophorini
• Wingspan: 11-17 mm
• Flight period: Jun - Sep (data not certain)
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Ulex sp.

Information

The Batia lambdella is a small moth of the Oecophoridae family with a wingspan of 11-17 mm.
Batia lambdella in Europe is absent from the Scandinavian peninsula, the Baltic countries, Belarus, Russia, Croatia and Bulgaria. In Italy it is also present in the islands. *

The front wings of the Batia lambdella are of a dark orange / ocher color, slightly darker on the tips and in the thick fringe that surrounds them. At the border between the light and dark parts there is a broad brown-black line interrupted through the front wings, the dorsal part forms a continuous pointed pattern, when the wings are relaxed while the moth rests. ***

The hind wings are translucent brown / ocher, strongly fringed. The head is black, the thorax dark orange / ocher, the abdomen brown / ocher. Similar to the congener Batia lunaris , it is about 50% larger than the latter.

Univoltine moth, the adult flies from June to September depending on the latitude. It is thought to be a predominantly nocturnal moth, but the data is not yet certain. The larva of this moth is white / yellowish, with a brown / black head, and a slightly darker prothoracic shield than the body. **

The larva feeds on the dead parts of stems, especially Ulex sp. ***, ****


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/
*** Kimber [2010]
**** Grabe (1942)