Nothris verbascella

Description

Nothris verbascella, the clay groundling, is a moth of the Gelechiidae family. It was described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found in almost all of Europe, Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, the Near East and the Russian Far East. The wingspan is 17–21 mm. There are two generations per year with adults on wing from May to early October. The larvae feed on Verbascum densiflorum, Verbascum phlomoides and Verbascum thapsus. The larvae live freely at the underside of the leaves of their host plant, causing window feeding. Since the dense layer of felt on the underside of the leaf is left intact, the feeding damage has the appearance of a mine.