Coleophora sternipennella

Description

Coleophora sternipennella is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found in all of Europe, except Greece and the Mediterranean islands. It is also known from the Caucasus. It occurs in steppe and desert biotopes, in wasteland and uncultivated parts of anthropogenic areas. The wingspan is about 13 mm. Adult are on wing from July to August in western Europe. The larvae feed on Atriplex and Chenopodium species. They create a tubular silken case which is 6–8 mm long. The mouth angle is 20-25°. The case is roughened by sand particles giving it a greyish yellow colour. It has vague length lines. Young larvae make a mine, from where a youth case is cut. After this, some small fleck mines are made. Finally, the larvae lives in the inflorescence, feeding on the developing fruits. Larvae can be found from September. They overwinter as a larva before pupating in June.