''Cydia fagiglandana'', the beech moth, 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 ...

Distribution and habitat

This species is present in most of Europe. These moths mainly occur in beech woodland.

Description

''Cydia fagiglandana'' can reach 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 12–16 mm.UK Moths
/ref> The forewings are brown-black irrorated with whitish, crossed by pairs of fine dark brown stripes. The basal patch is slightly darker, the edge sharply angulated. There are two leaden-metallic streaks from costa posteriorly and a large darker coppery-tinged terminal patch hardly reaching costa. The ocellus within this patch is edged with leaden-metallic, enclosing some blackish marks. The hindwings are fuscous. The larvae are light yellowish or whitish, longitudinally clouded with orange; spots orange; head pale brownish; plate of 2 pale ochreous. This species is rather similar to ''

Cydia splendana ''Cydia splendana'', the chestnut tortrix, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in Europe. It is also known as the acorn moth, but this can also refer to ''Blastobasis glandulella'' from North America, which belongs to the more primit ...

''.

Biology

The moth flies from April to September depending on the location. They are active in the evening. The larvae feed sometimes on

oak 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 ''L ...

('' Quercus ilex'', ''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

''), but usually on beech nuts (''

Fagus sylvatica ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though more ...

''). The larval stage may last for two years. Pupation usually occurs in a cocoon spun in the soil or in rotten wood.Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Belgium
The first adults emerge in late spring.

References

External links

Funet

Lepiforum
Grapholitini Moths of Japan Moths of Europe {{Olethreutinae-stub