''Catoptria conchella'' 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 Crambidae. It was described by

Michael Denis Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis, also: ''Sined the Bard'', (27 September 1729 – 29 September 1800) was an Austrian Catholic priest and Jesuit, who is best known as a poet, bibliographer, and lepidopterist. Life Denis was born at Schärding ...

and

Ignaz Schiffermüller Ignaz Schiffermüller (born 2 October 1727 in Hellmonsödt; died 21 June 1806 in Linz) was an Austrian naturalist mainly interested in Lepidoptera. Schiffermüller was a teacher at the Theresianum College in Vienna. His collection was presented ...

in 1775.

Subspecies

*''Catoptria conchella bourgognei'' Leraut, 2001 *''Catoptria conchella pseudopauperella'' (Zerny, 1914)

Distribution

This species can be found in Europe (Germany, Baltic region, Austria, France, Switzerland, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Poland, Russia).

Habitat

These moths live in the alpine meadows up to 2200 m. They mainly occur in open, grassy areas.

Description

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 24–30 mm.Slamka, František (2008): ''Pyraloidea of Europe'', Volume 2. Crambinae and Schoenobiinae. , S. 58 It is quite similar to ''

Catoptria pinella ''Catoptria pinella'' is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. It is found in Europe, North Africa and across the Palearctic. The wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the ot ...

'', but the rear part of the front wing is paler and a subterminal line is missing.Lepiforum.de
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Biology

Caterpillars can be found from April to June. Adults fly from June to August. These moths are

crepuscular In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylig ...

Bibliography

*Amsel, Hans Georg; Gregor, František; Reisser, Hans (Hrsg.) (1965): ''Microlepidoptera Palaearctica''. Band 1. Crambinae. Textteil. Verlag Georg Fromme & Co, Wien, S. 277 *Bellmann, Heiko (2001): ''Steinbachs Naturführer. Schmetterlinge''. Mosaik Verlag, München, *Patrice Leraut: Zygaenids, Pyralids 1. In: ''Moths of Europe''. 1. Auflage. Volume III. NAP Editions, 2012, , S. 550.

References

Crambini Moths described in 1775 Moths of Europe Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller {{Crambini-stub