''Cochylis pallidana'', the sheep's-bit conch, 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 was described by

Zeller Zeller, meaning both prisoner and monk in German, may refer to: Places *Zeller Ache, a river of Upper Austria *Zeller Bach (Isar), a river of Bavaria, Germany, tributary of the Isar * Zeller Bach (Memminger Ach), a river of Bavaria, Germany, tribut ...

in 1847.

Cochylis pallidana-Salzburg, Flachgau, Thalgau, Schober-E-MK-6-4461a

Description

''Cochylis pallidana'' has a

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 ...

of 11–14 mm. This species is very similar to '' Cochylis nana''. It can be distinguished by the absence of ochreous suffusion in the basic colour of the forewings.Hants Moths
/ref> Meyrick describes it - Head white. Thorax dark fuscous mixed with whitish. Forewings with costa slightly arched ; ochreous-whitish, with faint greyish ochreous strigulae, costa strigulated with blackish ; base and costa towards base suffusedly dark fuscous ; a dark fuscous blackish -marked median fascia, narrowed on costa, broadly interrupted with pale ochreous above middle ; a dark grey posterior transverse streak, sometimes extending to termen. Hindwings grey.Larva rose-pink, greenish-tinged ; head and plate of 2 brown or blackbrown: Julius von Kennel provides a full description.

Biology

The larvae feed on ''

Jasione montana ''Jasione montana'' is a low-growing plant in the family Campanulaceae found in rocky places and upland regions of Europe and western Asia. Common names include sheep's-bit, blue bonnets, blue buttons, blue daisy and iron flower. Due to the sim ...

''. They feed within the seedheads of their host plant. The species overwinters in a cocoon. Adults are on wing from May to early August in two generations per year.

Distribution and habitat

It is found in most of

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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

.Cochylis at funet
/ref> The habitat consists of dry pastures, downland and sand-dunes.

References

Moths described in 1847 Cochylis Moths of Europe Moths of Asia {{Cochylis-stub