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Species Chrysoclista linneella - Linnaeus's Spangle-wing - Hodges#1463

Representative Images

Chrysoclista linneella - Linnaeus's Spangle-wing?? - Chrysoclista linneella Linnaeus's Spangle-wing - Chrysoclista linneella Linnaeus's Spangle-wing - Hodges#1463 - Chrysoclista linneella Moth - Chrysoclista linneella Pretty, mini-moth - Chrysoclista linneella Pennsylvania Moth - Chrysoclista linneella Pennsylvania Moth - Chrysoclista linneella Linnaeus's Spangle-Wing Moth - Chrysoclista linneella
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Gelechioidea (Twirler Moths and kin)
Family Elachistidae (Grass Miner Moths)
Subfamily Agonoxeninae (Palm Moths)
Genus Chrysoclista
Species linneella (Linnaeus's Spangle-wing - Hodges#1463)

Hodges Number

1463

Other Common Names

Linnaeus's Cosmet
Linden Bark Borer (larva)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Chrysoclista linneella (Clerck, 1759)
Phalaena linneella Clerck, 1759
* phylogenetic sequence #043125

Explanation of Names

Specific epithet linneella in honor of Carl von Linné (or Carolus Linnaeus), the "Father of Taxonomy." (1)

Size

Wingspan about 12 mm.
Larva length to 6 mm.

Identification

Adult - a tiny moth - forewing bright orange or yellow with three large silvery spots arranged in a triangle in the median area, and a feathery fringe of scales on the outer margin. Hindwing blackish-violet with yellow cast.
Genitalia:


Larva - pale white.

Range

Introduced from Europe on more than one occasion (first recorded in New York City in 1928); also reported from other parts of New York State, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont, southern Ontario, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Occurs naturally throughout Europe.

Habitat

In and around European Linden trees.

Season

Adults fly from May to September.

Food

Larvae bore within the bark of European Linden (Tilia europea), an ornamental tree planted in many areas of northeastern North America; not yet known to feed on native species of Tilia, commonly known as basswood.

Life Cycle

One generation per year; overwinters as a larva under bark of host plant; pupation occurs within bark in early spring; adults emerge from May to August.

Remarks

Genus name sometimes misspelled "Chrysoclysta", and specific epithet commonly misspelled "lineella" plus other misspellings.

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group
live adult image (Bob Chapman, UK Moths)
pinned adult image (Kimmo and Seppo Silvonen, Finland)
pinned adult image (B. Gustafsson, Natural History Museum of Sweden)
common name reference [Linnaeus's Spangle-wing] (British Insects: the Families of Lepidoptera; L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz)
common name reference; PDF doc [Linden Bark Borer] plus origin, North American distribution, biology (Christopher Majka, Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History; Entomological Society of Canada)

Works Cited

1.An accentuated list of the British Lepidoptera, with hints on the derivation of the names.
Anonymous. 1858. The Entomological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge.
Contributed by Robin McLeod on 1 August, 2005 - 6:28am
Additional contributions by john and jane balaban, Beatriz Moisset, Randy Hardy, Robert H. Biagi
Last updated 21 January, 2024 - 4:44pm

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