Blastesthia tessulatana explained

Blastesthia tessulatana, the cone tortricid, is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in the Near East, North Africa, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and on Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and Cyprus.^[1]

The wingspan is 13–17 mm. Adults are on wing from April to August.

The larvae feed on Cupressaceae species, including Cupressus sempervirens.^[2] They feed on the cones of their host plant.^[3] Larvae can be found from September to April.

Notes and References

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714182255/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=438747 Fauna Europaea
2. http://www.microlepidoptera.nl/soorten/species.php?speciescode=127&p=1 microlepidoptera.nl
3. http://www.afs-journal.org/articles/forest/abs/1999/02/AFS_0003-4312_1999_56_2_ART0008/AFS_0003-4312_1999_56_2_ART0008.html Impact of insects damaging seed cones of cypress, Cupressus sempervirens, in natural stands and plantations of southeastern Europe