Ancylis obtusana

• Subfamily: Olethreutinae, Enarmoniini
• Wingspan: 11-14 mm
• Flight period: May - Jun
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Frangula, Rhamnus sp.

Information

The Ancylis obtusana also called The Small Buckthorn Roller is a moth of the Tortricidae family, subfamily Olethreutinae, with a wingspan of 11-21 mm.
It is distributed in almost all of Europe, with the exception of Spain, Slovenia, Greece, Bulagaria, Ukraine, Norway, Iceland. *
In Italy it is also present in the islands. *

The Ancylis obtusana is a moth with a particular livery, it has a very light orange or brown base color with darker shades towards the median area. Between the discal and postdiscal region of the anterior wing we find a white line bordered with silver that divides it in two diagonally, to finish in the cubital area, after making a fold.
The ocellus is well developed and silvery white streaks depart from it towards the costal area.

The hind wings are fringed, they are brownish with white shades along the edges. The head is washed out orange, the chest is brown / orange and the abdomen is brown.

The Ancylis obtusana is univoltine flies from early May to late June, flying in late sunny afternoons. It frequents marginal areas of woods and forests, and / or mainly humid areas where nourishing plants grow.

It overwinters in the larva stage and pupates in spring after the completion of the larval stages by feeding. ***

The larva feeds on Frangula alnus, Rhamnus cathartica and Rhamnus saxatilis. ***


* 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/