Coleophora semicinerea Staudinger, 1859
on Fabaceae
Colutea arborescens (from Baldizzone, 1989c)
Anthyllis vulneraria, zak Malta © Michael Zerafa
case on Lotus edulis.
opened pod Tripodion tetraphyllum with larva feeding on a seed (from Nel, 1994b)
parasite
The young larva devores the ovary of a flower, then uses the calyx (or, in case of a large flower, part of the calyx) in constructing the only case of its life. The mouth opening (angle hoek 20°-30°) is at the side op the peduncle. Within the calyx a trivalved cylindrical case is made from pale cream silk.
hostplants
Fabaceae, oligophagous
Anthyllis vulneraria; Colutea arborescens; Lotus edulis; Tripodion tetraphyllum.
phenology
The larva is full fed around end April (in Malta) and leaves to host plant to find a shelter in rock crevices etc.
distribution within Europe
Mediterranean Europe, including the Canary Islands (PESI, 2018).
larva
larva in diapause © Michael Zerafa. See also Nel (1994b).
predators
Elasmus nowickii; ; Hockeria unicolor.
notes
During the long time that a larva is in diapause a case can worn so strongly that almost all plant tissue has been eroded away, leaving only the resistant silken case inside. The above picture shows such a worn case.
references
Baldizzone (1983c, 1989c, 1995b, 1996a), Baldizzone & Hartig (1978a), Baldizzone & Nel (1993c), Kaltenbach & Roesler (1985a), Mifsud & Askew (2019a), Nel (1994b), Sammut (2008a), van der Wolf (2009a), Zerafa (2015a).