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Argyresthia goedartella, the bronze alder moth, is a species of moth of the family Argyresthiidae.

Argyresthia goedartella
Argyresthia goedartella, upperside
Lateral view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Argyresthiidae
Genus:	Argyresthia
Species:	A. goedartella
Binomial name
Argyresthia goedartella (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]
Phalaena goedartella Linnaeus, 1758 Argyresthia (Argyresthia) goedartella Phalaena semi-argentella Donovan, 1793 Tinea literella Haworth, 1828

Distribution

This very common species can be found in most of Europe and in North America.[2][3][4][5]

Description

Argyresthia goedartella has a wingspan of 10–13 mm.[6][7] These tiny moths have pale ochreous head with white antennae and white forewings with coppery-golden markings. A characteristic coppery-golden Y-shaped marking is present in the middle of the wings.[6] Hindwings are dark gray. Abdomen is grayish fuscous, while legs are brownish white.[7]

Biology

It is a univoltine species. These moths fly from May to October. They fly at night and on sunny afternoons and mainly feed on the nectar of tansy (Tanacetum vulgare).[6] The larvae feed on birch (Betula species) and alder (Alnus glutinosa).[3] They overwinter in a shoot or hard male catkin of the host plants. In late March or April, larvae congregate and pupate in a cocoon under the bark.[6][7]

References

Notes

1. ^ The flight season refers to Belgium and The Netherlands. This may vary in other parts of the range.

External links

• Media related to Argyresthia goedartella at Wikimedia Commons
• waarneming.nl (in Dutch)
• Lepidoptera of Belgium
• Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet (in Swedish)
• Commanster

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