''Coleophora'' is a very large genus of

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

and

Palaearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

regions. Many authors have tried splitting the genus into numerous smaller ones, but most of these have not become widely accepted. As with most members of the family, the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e initially feed on the seeds, flowers or leaves of the host plant, but when larger, they feed externally and construct distinctive protective silken cases, often incorporating plant material. Many species have specific host plants; discarded larval cases are often scattered thickly on affected plants.

Technical description

Based on terms described in the article

External morphology of Lepidoptera The external morphology of Lepidoptera is the morphology (biology), physiological structure of the bodies of insects belonging to the order Lepidoptera, also known as butterfly, butterflies and moths. Lepidoptera are distinguished f ...

: Antennae 4/5, porrected in repose, often thickened with scales towards base, in male simple, basal joint long, usually with rough scales or projecting tuft. Labial palpi rather long, recurved, second joint more or less roughscaled or tufted towards apex beneath, terminal shorter, acute. Posterior tibiae rough-haired. Forewings with costa often long-haired beneath ; lb furcate, 4 sometimes absent, 5 absent, 6 and 7 connate or stalked, 7 to costa, 8 absent. Hindwings 2/3, linear-lanceolate, cilia 3-4 ; transverse veins sometimes partly absent, 4 usually absent, 6 and 7 closely approximated or stalked.Meyrick, E., 1895 ''A Handbook of British Lepidoptera'' MacMillan, Londo
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Keys and description

Gallery

File:Coleophora lusciniaepennella.jpg, Female genitalia of '' C. lusciniaepennella'' File:Coleophora serratella.jpg, '' C. serratella'' case File:Soft Rush with cocoons of Coleophora caespitiella.JPG, Soft rush (''Juncus effusus'')

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

with feeding damage and cases of '' C. caespitiella'' File:Coleophora binderella damage.jpg, Black alder (''Alnus glutinosa'') with feeding damage (center) and case (center-right) of '' C. binderella''

Synonyms

References

External links

Fauna Europaea

HOSTS - Caterpillar Hostplants Database
{{Authority control Moth genera Taxa named by Jacob Hübner