''Trifurcula cryptella'' 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 widespread throughout Europe, northwards to southern parts of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

(but not in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

), eastwards to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, and south to the

Mediterranean countries The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the eas ...

, but there it is rare and confined to mountainous regions. In

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 ...

it has only been recorded from the northern part, in

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 ...

in the Serra da Estrêla, 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 ...

in the Cantabrian Mountains and possibly the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

. It is absent from the Mediterranean islands. 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 4-4.6 mm. The thick erect hairs on the head vertex are ferruginous-yellowish, sometimes mixed with fuscous. The collar is bright yellow. Antennal eyecaps are whitish. The forewings are pale greyish, coarsely irrorated with dark fuscous outer part of cilia whitish-grey. Hindwings grey.Meyrick, E., 1895 ''A Handbook of British Lepidoptera'' MacMillan, LondonExternal image
The larvae feed on ''

Anthyllis montana ''Anthyllis montana'' (syn. ''Vulneraria montana'' Scopoli), the mountain kidney vetch, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the mountains of Southern Europe and parts of the Alps. Growing to tall by broad, it is a ...

'', ''

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

'', ''

Coronilla emerus ''Hippocrepis emerus'', the scorpion senna, is a species of perennial plant belonging to the genus ''Hippocrepis'' in the family Fabaceae. Description ''Hippocrepis emerus'' reaches on average of height, with a maximum of . The plant has a lig ...

'', ''Coronilla emerus emeroides'', ''

Coronilla varia ''Securigera varia'' ( synonym ''Coronilla varia''), commonly known as crownvetch or purple crown vetch, is a low-growing legume vine. It is native to Africa, Asia and Europe and is commonly used throughout the United States and Canada for eros ...

'', ''

Hippocrepis comosa ''Hippocrepis comosa'', the horseshoe vetch, is a species of perennial flowering plant belonging to the genus '' Hippocrepis'' in the family Fabaceae. Description The overall appearance depends on its habitat: sometimes it forms upright clump ...

'', '' Lotus corniculatus'', '' Lotus hispidus'', '' Lotus pedunculatus'' and ''

Lotus uliginosus ''Lotus pedunculatus'' (formerly ''Lotus uliginosus''), the big trefoil, greater bird's-foot-trefoil or marsh bird's-foot trefoil, is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae). It is a herbaceous perennial growing throughout Europe in damp, open loc ...

''. They

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a long corridor with a very broad, green

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 ...

line. This corridor suddenly widens into a broad blotch that in the end may occupy almost an entire leaflet. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.

References

External links

Review Of The Subgenus Trifurcula (Levarchama), With Two New Species (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae)

lepiforum.de
of genitalia Nepticulidae Moths of Europe Moths described in 1856 {{Trifurcula-stub