Agriphila inquinatella

Agriphila inquinatella is a small moth species of the family Crambidae. It is found in Europe, around the Caucasus area to Turkestan, and in the Near East to Jordan.[1]

The name Agriphila inquinatella has been misapplied to some related species in the past; see below for details.

Agriphila inquinatella
Adult, museum specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Crambidae
Genus: Agriphila
Species:
A. inquinatella
Binomial name
Agriphila inquinatella
Synonyms[1]
  • Argiphila inquinatella (lapsus)
  • Crambus elbursellus Zerny, 1939
  • Crambus inquinatellus (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
  • Pediasia inquinatalis Hübner, [1825]
  • Tinea arbustella Schrank, 1802
  • Tinea inquinatella Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775

Three subspecies are accepted today:[1]

  • Agriphila inquinatella inquinatella (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) – most of the range
  • Agriphila inquinatella nevadensis (Caradja, 1910) – Sierra Nevada and presumably elsewhere in Spain
  • Agriphila inquinatella elbursella (Zerny, 1939) – Alborz mountains and presumably elsewhere in the Caucasus region

The adult moths fly between June to September, depending on the location. Their wingspan is 23–29 mm.

The caterpillars feed mainly on Poaceae grasses, such as meadow-grass species (Poa) or sheep's fescue (Festuca ovina). They can be found under pebbles adjacent to their food plants, suggesting that they feed on the plants' roots. A more unusual food plant is the Pottiales moss Tortula muralis.[2]

Misidentifications involving this species

Apart from the junior synonyms listed, two scientific names have been misapplied to this species in the past:[1]

In turn, the present species' scientific name was erroneously used for the related moths Pediasia contaminella (by Jacob Hübner in 1817), Agriphila geniculea (by J.F. Stephens in 1834 and W. Wood in 1839), Pediasia aridella (by Philipp Christoph Zeller in 1839), and Agriphila brioniella (by Aristide Caradja in 1910 and Alexander Kirilow Drenowski in 1923).[1]

Footnotes
  1. See references in Savela (2005)
  2. Grabe (1942), and see references in Savela (2005)
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References
  • Grabe, Albert (1942): Eigenartige Geschmacksrichtungen bei Kleinschmetterlingsraupen ["Strange tastes among micromoth caterpillars"]. Zeitschrift des Wiener Entomologen-Vereins 27: 105-109 [in German]. PDF fulltext
  • Savela, Markku. "Agriphila Hübner, [1825]". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved November 28, 2017. Archived here. April 15, 2007.


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