Longicornutia epilinana

• Subfamily: Tortricinae, Cochylini
• Wingspan: 13-15 mm
• Flight period: May - Aug
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Asteraceae Caprifoliaceae and Linaceae

Information

The Longicornutia epilinana previously known as Cochylis epilinana *** is a moth of the Tortricidae family, subfamily Tortricinae, with wingspan of about 13-15 mm.
Distributed in most of Europe with the exclusion of the United Kingdom, the Ireland of the benelux and Norway. *
In Italy it is also present in the islands. *

The front wings of Longicornutia epilinana have a background color ranging from pale ocher yellow to light brownish-yellow, clearly visible a yellowish brown median band mixed with blackish scales on the back, oblique towards the inside, often less pronounced towards the coast. ****
The discal and marginal regions are the same color as the median band.
The hind wings are pale yellow / brownish or brown, darker at the apex. *****

It is thought flights in two or three generations surely there are 3 generations a year in Ukraine. Moths fly from mid-May to late May, mid-June to late July and August. ****
and eggs are laid singly on the flower sepals. On Solidago and Cephalaria, the larvae feed internally in the flower heads, on Linum, they live in seed pods.

Upon hatching, the young larva penetrates the seed capsule where it destroys the seeds. One seed capsule may be sufficient to ensure the complete development of the larva.

The larvae of Longicornutia epilinana feed on Linaceae and in particular on Linum usitatissimum, Linum catharticum, Linum campanulatum, Linum narbonense, of Asteraceae of plants of the genus Solidago and of Caprifoliaceae in particular only of the species Cephalaria leucantha.


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/
*** Kovács & Kovács (2020)
**** Eurasian Tortricidae 2.0 - https://eurasian-tortricidae.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/
***** (Razowski, 1970a).