''Agonopterix ocellana'' is a species of

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 ...

of the family Depressariidae. It is found in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and was first described by

Johan Christian Fabricius Johan Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, and is cons ...

in 1775.

Description

The moth is relatively easy to identify by the combination of black, white and rufous colours in the centre of the pale-sandy brown forewing. 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 19–22 mm. Meyrick describes it - The forewings are whitish-ochreous, slightly fuscous-tinged, more or less sprinkled with black;first discal stigma black mixed with red, preceded by a similar dot obliquely above and sometimes connected with it, second white edged with red; between and above these a dark fuscous spot edged beneath with red; blackish terminal dots. Hindwings are fuscous-whitish. The larva is pale green; dots black; head yellow-brownish. It is single brooded, hibernates as an adult and can be found all year round. Comes to

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

Egg

Eggs are laid on the shoots of many species of

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

(''Salix'' species) in May.

Larva

Full grown larvae are 17 mm long. The body of a later

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

is apple green with a pale brown head. They feed in spun or rolled leaves of willows in June and July. In mid-Europe they also feed on birch ('' Betula'' species) and oak (''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

'' species).

Pupa

Pupa can be found in the soil or amongst detritus in July and August.

Distribution

Found throughout Europe.

Notes

References

External links

''Agonopterix ocellana'' at UKmoths
Agonopterix Moths described in 1775 Moths of Africa Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius {{Agonopterix-stub