Monochroa tenebrella explained

Monochroa tenebrella, the common plain neb, is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It was described by Jacob Hübner in 1817. It is found in most of Europe. The habitat consists of open grassy areas and heathland.

The wingspan is 10–12 mm.^[1] The antennae with apical third in female white. Forewings unicolorous dark shining bronzy; base of costa purplish-tinged. Hindwings are grey. The larva is reddish; spots brown; head and plate of 2 black-brown.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Adults are on wing from June to July and are day-flying.

The larvae feed on Rumex acetosella. They feed on the roots^[6] and lower stems of their host plant.^[7]

References

• Monochroa tenebrella in lotmoths

Notes and References

1. http://www.microlepidoptera.nl/soorten/species.php?speciescode=330140&p=1 Microlepidoptera.nl
2. Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf Keys and description
3. Heath, J.,ed. 1976 The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland Vol. 4 Part 2
4. Langmaid, J. R., Palmer, S. M. & Young, M. R. [eds]. 2018 A Field Guide to the Smaller Moths of Great Britain and Ireland [3rd ed.]Reading, Berkshire. British Entomological and Natural History Society
5. https://lepiforum.org/wiki/page/Monochroa_tenebrella lepiforum.de includes images
6. Web site: Kimber . Ian . 35.066 BF735 Monochroa tenebrella (Hübner, [1817]) ]. UKMoths . 10 August 2019.
7. http://www.hantsmoths.org.uk/species/0735.php Hantsmoths