''Coleophora'' is a very large genus 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 ...

s of the family

Coleophoridae __NOTOC__ The Coleophoridae are a family of small moths, belonging to the huge superfamily Gelechioidea. Collectively known as case-bearers, casebearing moths or case moths, this family is represented on all continents, but the majority are found ...

. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

and

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 ...

regions. Many authors have tried splitting the genus into numerous smaller ones, but most of these have not become widely accepted. As with most members of the family, the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e initially feed on the seeds, flowers or leaves of the host plant, but when larger, they feed externally and construct distinctive protective silken cases, often incorporating plant material. Many species have specific host plants; discarded larval cases are often scattered thickly on affected plants.

Technical description

For terms see

External morphology of Lepidoptera The external morphology of Lepidoptera is the physiological structure of the bodies of insects belonging to the order Lepidoptera, also known as butterflies and moths. Lepidoptera are distinguished from other orders by the presen ...

Antennae 4/5, porrected in repose, often thickened with scales towards base, in male simple, basal joint long, usually with rough scales or projecting tuft. Labial palpi rather long, recurved, second joint more or less roughscaled or tufted towards apex beneath, terminal shorter, acute. Posterior tibiae rough - haired. Forewings with costa often long - haired beneath ; lb furcate, 4 sometimes absent, 5 absent, 6 and 7 connate or stalked, 7 to costa, 8 absent. Hindwings 2/3, linear-lanceolate, cilia 3-4 ; transverse veins sometimes partly absent, 4 usually absent, 6 and 7 closely approximated or stalked.Meyrick, E., 1895 ''A Handbook of British Lepidoptera'' MacMillan, Londo
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Keys and description

Gallery

File:Coleophora lusciniaepennella.jpg, Female genitalia of '' C. lusciniaepennella'' File:Coleophora serratella.jpg, '' C. serratella'' case File:Soft Rush with cocoons of Coleophora caespitiella.JPG,

Soft rush ''Juncus effusus'', with the common names common rush or soft rush, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to '' Juncus interior''. Distribution '' ...

(''Juncus effusus'')

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

with feeding damage and cases of '' C. caespitiella'' File:Coleophora binderella damage.jpg,

Black alder Black alder is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Alnus glutinosa'', native to Europe and widely naturalized *''Ilex verticillata ''Ilex verticillata'', the winterberry, is a species of holly native to eastern North America in ...

(''Alnus glutinosa'') with feeding damage (center) and case (center-right) of '' C. binderella''

Synonyms

References

External links

Fauna Europaea

HOSTS - Caterpillar Hostplants Database
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1306644 Moth genera Taxa named by Jacob Hübner