''Epiblema sticticana'' 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 Tortricidae described by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1842.

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 .UKMoths
/ref> Forewings show a subquadrate large whitish dorsal blotch and a light brown colouration. These moths are very similar to ''

Epiblema scutulana ''Epiblema scutulana'' is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm. The species closely resembles '' Epiblema sticticana'' and '' Epiblema cirsiana'', identification is only possible on the basis of microscopic exami ...

'' and '' Epiblema cirsiana'', but they are generally browner and lighter.

Biology

The larvae feed on coltsfoot (''

Tussilago farfara ''Tussilago farfara'', commonly known as coltsfoot, is a plant in the tribe Senecioneae in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and parts of western and central Asia. The name "tussilago" is derived from the Latin ''tussis'', meaning cough, an ...

''), winter heliotrope (''

Petasites fragrans ''Petasites pyrenaicus'', the winter heliotrope, is a medicinal and ornamental flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Description This perennial grows from deep rhizomes. The leaves are large, suborbicular and up to 20 cm across and st ...

''), greater burdock ('' Arctium lappa''), marsh thistle (''

Cirsium palustre ''Cirsium palustre'', the marsh thistle or European swamp thistle, is a herbaceous biennial (or often perennial) flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. ''Cirsium palustre'' is a tall thistle which reaches up to in height. The strong stems ha ...

''), musk thistle (''

Carduus nutans ''Carduus nutans'', with the common names musk thistle, nodding thistle, and nodding plumeless thistle, is a biennial plant in the daisy and sunflower family Asteraceae. It is native to regions of Eurasia. Description ''Carduus nutans'' is usual ...

'') and spear thistle ('' Cirsium vulgare''). They initially feed in the roots, but later in the flower lower stems. Adults are on wing from May to June.

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found in almost all of Europe, as well as the eastern

Palearctic realm 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 ...

and the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

. It mainly occurs in waste grounds, rough meadows, damp grounds and coastal areas.

References

Moths described in 1842 Eucosmini Moths of Europe {{Eucosmini-stub