The gorse tip moth (''Agonopterix nervosa'') is a smallish

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Depressariidae.See references in Savela (2008) It is found in Europe and North America. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 16–22 mm. Terminal joint of palpi with two blackish bands. Forewings are light brown, somewhat whitish-sprinkled, sometimes slightly reddish-tinged; numerous dark fuscous dashes; two indicating discal stigmata, between which is sometimes a line of pale scales; an obscure pale very acutely angulated fascia at 3/4. Hindwings fuscous-whitish, more fuscous posteriorly; 5 connate with stalk of 3 and 4.The larva is dark bluish -grey; lateral line orange-yellow; spots black, white-circled; head black; plate of 2 black, bisected, anterior edge whitish.Meyrick, E., 1895 ''A Handbook of British Lepidoptera'' MacMillan, Londo
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Keys and description Adults fly from July to September depending on the location. The

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s feed on brooms, namely of the

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

'' Cytisus'', '' Genista'', ''

Laburnum ''Laburnum'', sometimes called golden chain or golden rain, is a genus of two species of small trees in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are '' Laburnum anagyroides''—common laburnum and '' Laburnum alpinum''— ...

'' (golden chains) and '' Ulex'' (gorses).

Synonyms

Obsolete

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

s of the gorse tip moth are: * ''Agonopteryx blackmori'' Busck, 1922 * ''Agonopterix boicella'' (Freyer, 1835) * ''Depressaria costosa'' Haworth, 1811 * ''Tinea depunctella'' Hübner,

813 Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 22 – Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars, led by Krum, ruler (''khan'') of the Bulgarian Empire, defeat Emperor Michael I near Edirne (modern Turkey). The Byzantine army (26,000 men) is d ...

!-- published in which year exactly? -->) * ''Depressaria dryadoxena'' Meyrick, 1920 * ''Depressaria costosa ab. venosata'' Kautz, 1930 * ''Depressaria nervosa'' Haworth, 1811 (In older (19th-century) sources, this name is often misapplied to ''

Depressaria daucella ''Depressaria daucella'' is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in most of Europe, except most of the Balkan Peninsula. It is also found in North America. The wingspan is 21–24 mm. The terminal joint of palpi with two blacki ...

'') * ''Agonopterix rubricella'' Millière, 1876 * ''Depressaria obscurana'' Weber, 1945 * ''Tortrix spartiana'' Hübner,

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Footnotes

References

* (2003): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms &ndash
''Agonopterix nervosa''
Version of 2008-JUL-18. Retrieved 2010-APR-24.

External links

''Agonopterix nervosa'' at UKmoths
Agonopterix Moths of Europe Moths described in 1811 Moths of North America {{Agonopterix-stub