Coleophora hospitiella Chrétien, 1915


Medicago laciniata, La Gomera; left the youth case, right the adult case, on a fructiferous inflorescence; from Klimesch (1982a)
case
Rather flat lobe case, finally about 7-9 mm long, composed of fairly large leaf fragments. Later the larve changes its life style, and starts feeding on the ripening seeds.
hostplants
Fabaceae, monophagous
Medicago laciniata.
In the light of the large, and strongly disjunct, distribution this probably isn’t the only host species.
phenology
Active larvae found from January till May. Dependent on timing of the rain the larva can wait one to several years before pupation.
BENELUX
Not known from the Benelux countries (Fauna Europaea, 2009).
distribution within Europe
Northern Russia; Hungary; Greece; France, Spain, Canary Islands (Fauna Europaea, 2009); known further from desert areas of Iran, Libia and Tunisia (Klimesch, 1982a).
references
Baldizzone (1979c), Baldizzone & van der Wolf (2000a), Chrétien (1915a), Klimesch (1982a), van der Wolf (2009a).