''Trifurcula coronillae'' 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 Nepticulidae. It is found along the Mediterranean coast of

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 ...

, but probably has a wider range. 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 5.6-6.7 mm for males and 5.4-6.4 mm for females. Adults emerge from May to August. There is probably one generation per year. The larvae feed on ''

Coronilla juncea The genus ''Coronilla'' contains 8 species of flowering plants native plant, native to Europe and North Africa. It cointained about 20 species before being split into ''Securigera''. Species include: * ''Coronilla coronata'' * ''Coronilla junc ...

''. The larva makes a very conspicuous gallery mine in the green bark, in which the living larva can easily been seen. The mine often starts contorting, frequently encircling the stem. The larva usually feeds downward first, but later changes feeding direction one or more times. The mine usually ends in an upwards direction. The mine is filled with greenish brown

frass Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter. Definition and etymology ''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...

. There are often numerous mines in a single stem. The cocoon is brown and made in the soil or leaf litter. Larvae have been collected in January and February, but many mines were already vacated in that period, so that larvae probably start mining in autumn.

External links

Nepticulidae and Opostegidae of the world
Nepticulidae Moths of Europe Moths described in 1990 {{Trifurcula-stub