Coleophora mayrella
Encyclopedia
The Metallic Coleophora Moth (Coleophora mayrella) is a moth
of the Coleophoridae
family. It is native to Europe
and Armenia
, but is an adventive species in the Nearctic ecozone, where it is found throughout the United States
and southern Canada
. It has also been recorded from New Zealand
, Chile
and Argentina
. The habitat consists of grassy areas and waste ground.
The wingspan
is 10-12 mm. The adults have a bronzy or greenish metallic sheen with no markings. They fly during the day as well as after dark. They are on wing in June and July in western Europe and from May to August in North America.
The larvae feed within the flowers of Trifolium repens where they feed on the seeds. A larval case is built in the later stages.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Coleophoridae
Coleophoridae
| name = Case-bearers| image = Coleophoridae-01 .jpg| image_width = 240px| image_caption = Adult of an unidentified case-bearer species| regnum = Animalia| phylum = Arthropoda| classis = Insecta| ordo = Lepidoptera| superfamilia = Gelechioidea...
family. It is native to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, but is an adventive species in the Nearctic ecozone, where it is found throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and southern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It has also been recorded from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. The habitat consists of grassy areas and waste ground.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 10-12 mm. The adults have a bronzy or greenish metallic sheen with no markings. They fly during the day as well as after dark. They are on wing in June and July in western Europe and from May to August in North America.
The larvae feed within the flowers of Trifolium repens where they feed on the seeds. A larval case is built in the later stages.