Piniphila bifasciana

• Subfamily: Olethreutinae, Olethreutini
• Wingspan: 12-16 mm
• Flight period: Jun - Jul
• Spread: Uncommon
• Host plants: Pinaceae

Information

The Piniphila bifasciana is a moth of the Tortricidae family with a wingspan of 12-16 mm. It is distributed throughout Europe, with the exception of the Balkan Peninsula (but it is present in Romania)and of Ukraine. *
Its range extends to eastern Russia (Siberia, Amur), China, Korea and Japan. ***
In Italy it is also present in the Sicily. *

The front wings of the Piniphila bifasciana have a silvery white background color, with a pink hue (the pink color is more pronounced in fresh samples), with diffused pale ocher / gray streaks; there are pale gray and ocher markings, mixed with silvery light gray and black. The costa has blackish streaks. **

The median band is well defined, there is a large subterminal patch, with pale ocher bands. The margins are bordered or shaded in black, the fringes are gray.
The hind wings are brownish gray. The intensity of the blackish spraying on the basal pattern and on the median band can vary considerably. ****

Sexual dimorphism is not evident apart from a slightly larger size of the females.
Adults fly in June and July. They overwinter at the larval stage.

In May and June, the larvae feed on the young shoots and the male flower of Pinus spp ..
They spin the flower loose mass and live in a gallery of white silk, near the base of the central stem.
Pupation takes place in June, in the larval dwelling, spun into a fragile, white silk cocoon mixed with flower debris. ****,*****

The Piniphila bifasciana larva measures approx. 12 mm with dark brown or black head; flat prothorax ranging from brown to blackish brown; abdomen yellow to light gray, sometimes tinged with whitish red; the pupa is 6-7 mm long of a brownish orange color. ******

The host plants are in Europe: Pinus sylvestris, Pinus pinaster, Pinus microstrobilus, Pinus pinea.
In Japan: Abies sachalinensis, Pinus densiflora. ****** * Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/
*** hBong-KyuByunaShanchunYanb 2006: Two New Records and a rediscovered Species of the tribe Olethreutini from China (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae) Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology, Volume 9, Issue 3, September 2006, Pages 245-248
**** (Bradley et al., 1979)
***** (Bankes, 1909)
****** Eurasian-tortricidae - https://eurasian-tortricidae.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/