Opostega salaciella (Treitschke, 1833) Species
Last modified: Jan. 9, 2024, 4:27 p.m.
A rare and local species in Belgium, more observed in the north of the country.
Details
- Classification
- Family: Opostegidae > Genus: Opostega > Species: Opostega salaciella
- Vernacular names
- Witte oogklepmot (NL), Sorrel Bent-wing (EN)
- Synonyms
- Opostega reliquella Zeller, 1848
- First mention in Belgium
- De Sélys-Longchamps E. 1844. Énumération des insectes Lépidoptères de la Belgique. — Mémoires de la Société royale des Sciences de Liége 2: 1–35. On page 25 (as Elachista Salaciella H.). view page
- Status
-
Native
Distribution
Imago
This moth has a wingspan of 9–12 mm. It can be confused with species from other families, but O. salaciella is fairly easy to distinguish from other small species due to the typical scales at the top of the eyes, the so-called eye-caps. It also misses the brown dot on the forewing present with P. auritella.
Museum specimens
Specimens in nature
Bionomics
The biology of this species is insufficiently known. The larva lives probably inside the stem of Rumex acetosella (and R. acetosa?).
The adults rest low in the vegetation during the day. They are active in the late afternoon and at dusk. They also come to light at night.
Flight periods
The adults fly from mid June till early August.
Observed on
- Host plant (species):
- Rumex acetosella
The hostplant of this species is not known for certain. The caterpillar was once bred on Rumex acetosella.
