Pelochrista caecimaculana

• Subfamily: Olethreutinae, Eucosmini
• Wingspan: 16-20 mm
• Flight period: Jun - Aug
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Centaurea sp.

Information

The Pelochrista caecimaculana is a moth of the Tortricidae family with a wingspan of 16-20 mm. It is widespread throughout Europe with the exception of Ireland and Croatia *.
In Italy it is also present in Sicily *.

The front wings of the Pelochrista caecimaculana have a whitish background color coarsely streaked with brown, the entire wing, including the fascial markings, are abundantly sprayed with yellow ocher. **

The costa is marked with brown streaks, more defined after the middle; there is a spot, in the background color, near the inner corner. The edge of the wing (from the apex to the inner corner) has a border, given by some brown flakes, which give an uneven and floury appearance.

The fringes are the same color as the background with shades of ocher. The rear wing is shaded gray, more intense towards the edge. The margin has a well-defined dark gray border.

Adults resemble some species of Eucosma in appearance. It frequents dry and desert pastures, especially on calcareous soils, and flies between June and July.
It overwinters in the larva stage.
Visible from the basal plane up to 600 m of altitude, some sporadic sightings up to 1200 meters. ****

The larvae of Pelochrista caecimaculana are yellowish white; ocher-yellow to light brown head; yellow prothoracic and anal plaques.
They feed on the roots of Asteraceae of the genus Centaurea, in particular of Centaurea nigra and Centaurea jacea (common cornflower) and Serratula sp., Starting from September. There are also reports on Carduus sp.. ***


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/
*** Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Belgium - https://projects.biodiversity.be/lepidoptera/species/4409/
**** Les Papillons de France - https://oreina.org/