Seq # 275021010

Coleophora violacea (Ström, 1783) Species

Last modified: June 15, 2023, 3:59 p.m.


A not so common species in Belgium but found throughout the country after 2004.


Details

Classification
Family: Coleophoridae > Genus: Coleophora > Species: Coleophora violacea
Vernacular names
Witsprietkokermot (NL), Violet case-bearer (EN)
Synonyms
Coleophora paripennella sensu auct., nec Zeller, 1839
First mention in Belgium
De Fré Ch. 1858. Catalogue des Microlépidoptères de la Belgique. — Annales de la Société entomologique belge 2: 45–162. On page 141.
Status

Native


Distribution


Imago

The forewings, head and thorax are shiny greyish.
The antennae are ¾ dark and ¼ (at the tip) clearly white.
The wing span is 9–11 mm.

Museum specimens

No pictures yet!

Specimens in nature

No pictures yet!

Genitalia


Case

The brown case is lobe-shaped and is laying almost flat on its leaf, so the mouth angle is 0°. Ventrally, there is a distinct keel.
See also bladmineerders.be.


Mine

The fleck mines are rather large, round and brownish.

No pictures yet!

Bionomics

The eggs are deposited at the underside of a leaf of the food plant. The caterpillars feed on both sides of the leafs and are fully grown in October.
Cases are easily found in springtime on e.g. smooth Alnus stems.
The adults fly in early evening and later come to light.

No pictures yet!

Flight periods

The adults fly in one generation a year, from late May till early July.


Observed on

Host plant (genera):
Malus, Prunus, Rosa, Rubus, Betula, Ulmus, Alnus and Tilia
Substrates:
Herbaceous plants and Deciduous trees

The larva lives on Rosaceae and on woody plants including: Alnus, Castanea, Potentilla, Rubus, Symphoricarpus, Tilia, Viburnum, etc...
So this species is extremely polyphagous: over 30 species of food plants are known.

No pictures yet!