''Argyrotaenia ljungiana'' is a

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

Tortricidae The Tortricidae are a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths or leafroller moths, in the order Lepidoptera. This large family has over 11,000 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea, although the genus ...

. It is found in Europe. 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 o ...

is 12–16 mm. Thorax has two hair-tufts. The species is quite variable in colour. The silver-white ground colour may be suffused with grey; and the usually red-brown markings may be close to black. The forewing tends to have three lighter cross-bands, the innermost of which sometimes has a square brown spot at the inner edge. The hindwings are grey-brown and the inner part of the wing fringe is bright so that there is a narrow, light strip along the outer edge. Julius von Kennel provides a full description.

Julius von Kennel Julius von Kennel (10 June 1854 – 24 January 1939) was a German zoologist and entomologist born in Schwegenheim. He studied at the University of Würzburg, where he came under the influence of zoologist Karl Semper (1832-1893). Later, he ...

, 1921, ''The Palaearktischen Tortriciden, eine monographische Darstellung''. Stuttgart: E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. 742 pp. –

Palaearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

, a monograp
pdf at Zobodat
164-165 as ''politana'' Haw. The moth flies in two generations from April to August. The larvae feed on

Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

, '' Myrica gale'' and ''

Vaccinium ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whort ...

'' but have also been spotted feeding on grapes and apples.

References

External links

Argyrotaenia ljungiana at UK Moths
Moths described in 1797 ljungiana Tortricidae of Europe {{Argyrotaenia-stub