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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Twirler Moths and kin (Gelechioidea) » Twirler Moths (Gelechiidae) » Anomologinae » Metzneria

Genus Metzneria

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited

Burdock Seedhead Moth - Metzneria lappella

Gelechiidae: Metzneria lappella - Metzneria lappella

could this be Metzneria lappella? - Metzneria lappella

Gelechiidae, Burdock Seedhead Moth larva - Metzneria lappella

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 Gelechiidae (Twirler Moths)

Subfamily Anomologinae

Genus Metzneria

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Metzneria Zeller, 1939; in Busck, Proc. USNM, v.25, pp.773

Numbers

2 species in North America listed at All-Leps

Size

wingspan of M. lappella 12-19 mm (1)

Range

throughout United States and southern Canada

also represented by several species in Eurasia

Habitat

fields, roadsides, waste places

Season

adults fly in June and July in the north; April to August in the south

larvae in late summer, fall, and spring (overwinter)

Food

larvae of M. lappella feed on developing seeds of burdock (Arctium spp.)

larvae of M. paucipunctella feed on developing seeds of knapweed (Centaurea spp.)

Life Cycle

one generation per year; overwinters as a larva in seedhead of hostplant; pupates in spring inside seedhead

Remarks

both species are native to Eurasia; M. paucipunctella was intentionally introduced in the 1970s to northwestern states and British Columbia in an attempt to control knapweed

Internet References

pinned adult images of both species by Jim Vargo (Moth Photographers Group)

pinned adult image of M. lappella by SangMi Lee (Moth Photographers Group)

7 pinned adult images of M. lappella, plus collection site map (All-Leps)

live adult image of M. paucipunctella (Neal Spencer, USDA, insectimages.org)

live adult images of M. lappella, plus decription, foodplant, flight dates (Lynn Scott, Ontario)

overview of biology of M. paucipunctella and its use in biocontrol in northwestern United States (R.F. Lang, USDA, courtesy Cornell U., New York)

overview of biology of M. paucipunctella and its use in biocontrol in British Columbia (Peter Harris, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

distribution of specimens of M. lappella in collection at Mississippi Entomological Museum (Mississippi State U.)

presence in California; list of M. lappella (U. of California at Berkeley)

presence in Florida; list of M. lappella (John Heppner, Florida State Collection of Arthropods)

Works Cited

1.	Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America Charles V. Covell, Jr. 2005.

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 18 December, 2006 - 8:28pm
Additional contributions by Randy Hardy
Last updated 3 July, 2012 - 8:09pm

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