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
Lypusidae
Lypusidae is an obscure family of moths placed in the superfamily Gelechioidea.
History of classification
The group was traditionally considered monotypic (containing only the genus ''Lypusa'' with two species) and belonging in the primitive mot ...
family. It is found in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, northern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and in
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
. The habitat consists of warm, grassy, dry, sandy habitats mainly in oak tree forests or heath.
It is virtually identical in appearance to ''
Lypusa maurella
''Lypusa maurella'' is a moth of the Lypusidae family. It is found in most of Europe.
The wingspan is 7–12 mm. Adults are on wing from May to June.
The larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals underg ...
'', but more robust and slightly larger. It is however easily distinguished by the genitalia in both sexes. The length of the forewings is 7.5-8.1 mm for males and 8.2–9 mm for females.DEpository
Adults are on wing from mid-April to early June.
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 possibly feed on stone
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.lepiforum.de GelechioideaMoths of Europe
{{Gelechioidea-stub