Ptocheuusa asterisci explained

Ptocheuusa asterisci is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It was described by Walsingham in 1903. It is found in Spain.[1] [2]

The wingspan is 11–14 mm. The forewings are whitish cinereous, longitudinally shaded with brownish fuscous, intermixed with pale chestnut-brown and with a broadish shade which extends from the base along the costa nearly to the apex, a shorter shade along the disc, and a third, still shorter, beneath it, extending somewhat beyond the middle of the fold, these are all more or less mixed with chestnut-brown, the dorsum is sprinkled with brownish fuscous, and a chestnut-brown patch runs parallel with the termen to the apex. The hindwings are greyish.

The larvae feed in the dry seed heads of Asteriscus mauretanica.[3]

Notes and References

  1. http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/gelechioidea/gelechiidae/anomologinae/ptocheuusa/ funet.fi
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20131005181441/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=437048 Fauna Europaea
  3. https://archive.org/stream/entomologistsmon391903oxfo#page/263/mode/1up Ent. mon. Mag. 39 : 263