''Mesophleps oxycedrella'' 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 Gelechiidae. It is found in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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 ...

and on

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. 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 6.5–14 mm. The forewings are light yellow to ochre with distinct dark brown markings. Adults emerge in early July. The larvae feed on the fruit of '' Juniperus oxycedrus'', '' Juniperus phoeniceus'' and '' Juniperus macrocarpus''. Young larvae bore into the fleshy part of the berry in mid-August. It overwinters there and feeds and grows again in early spring. Larvae are full-grown in March or April and they leave the fruit and descend to the ground on a silken thread to pupate. Full-grown larvae are 10–12 mm. They have a yellowish white or amber body with a pale ochre head., 2012: A taxonomic revision of the genus ''Mesophleps'' Hübner, 1825 (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). ''Zootaxa'' 3373: 1-82.

References

Moths described in 1871 Mesophleps Moths of Europe {{Anacampsini-stub