Aethes tesserana

• Subfamily: Tortricinae, Cochylini
• Wingspan: 11-18 mm
• Flight period: May - Aug
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Asteraceae

Information

The Aethes tesserana also known as Downland Conch is a moth of the Tortricidae family, subfamily Tortricinae, with wingspan of about 11-18 mm.
Distributed in most of Europe with the exclusion of Ireland, Norway and Ukraine. *
Its range extends to the Middle East and North of Iran.
In Italy it is also present on the islands. *

The front wings of the Aethes tesserana have a characteristic contrasting checkered livery, generally yellow and orange, surrounded by silver lines, even if the form without these last lines is not rare. In very rare cases the livery can be completely yellow.
The hind wings are gray in color, as is the abdomen. The head and thorax are yellow with orange shades.

The Aethes tesserana is a diurnal moth and seems to prefer environments that maintain a higher temperature than the surrounding areas.
The habitats where adults can be encountered are varied, such as pastures, meadows, gravel areas, railway embankments and edges of fields.
Univoltine species, adults are visible from mid-May to mid-August.

The Aethes tesserana larva has a yellowish white body with an ocher or yellowish brown head and a yellow prothoracic shield. **, ***
The chrysalis is brown / ocher in color and is found on the roots of the host plant in the neck area.

The larvae feed on the roots of various Ateraceae, such as Picris hieracioides, Picris echioides, Hieracium Crepis, and Inula Conyza.


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