Argyresthia trifasciata Staudinger, 1871

triple-barred argent

mine

Oviposition on a young shoot. The larva penetrates a leaf, empties it, leaves it, often by making another hole in the epidermis, and starts anew. Older larvae bore in a twig. Pupation external, mostly in the litter. Mined twigs turn brown and are dropped.

host plants

Cupressaceae, oligophagous

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana; Cupressus x leylandii; Juniperus chinensis, horizontalis, x media, sabina, squamata, virginiana; Thuja occidentalis.

Juniperus is the primary host plant.

phenology

Larvae from half June to late March; hibernation in the mine (Stigter & van Frankenhuyzen, 1992a).

BENELUX

BE recorded (Phegea, 2010).

NE recorded (Kuchlein & de Vos, 1999a; Microlepidoptera.nl, 2010).

LUX not recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2010).

distribution within Europe

From Scandinavia to Spain and Italy, and from Britain to Poland and Hungary (Fauna Europaea, 2010).

larva

Body green; head, prothoracic and anal plate black; feet greenish brown. See Konečná, Konečná & Šefrová for a detailed description.

pupa

See Patočka (1998a), Patočka & Turčáni (2005a)

notes

Observed in the Netherlands for the first time in 1982 (Huisman ao, 1986a). The species has spread rapidly since then, mainly because of the popularity of Juniper in gardens. Shrubs in gardens often are badly damaged. In the same year 1982 the species was seen in Britain for the first time (Emmet, 1982b). Seemingly the the species originally was limited to a small area in the Swiss and French Alps.

references

Agassiz (1996a, 2004a), Bengtsson & Johansson (2011a), Emmet (1982b), Huisman & Koster (1998a), Huisman, Koster, van Nieukerken ao (2006a), Huisman, Kuchlein, van Nieukerken ao (1986a), Huisman, Koster, van Nieukerken & Ulenberg (2004a), Kollár & Hrubík (2009a), Konečná (2013a), Konečná & Šefrová (2014a), Kuchlein & Donner (1993a), Kuchlein & de Vos (1999a), Laštůvka & Laštůvka (2019a), van Nieukerken, Gielis, Huisman ao (1993a), Parsons (2000a), Patočka (1998a), Patočka & Turčáni (2005a), De Prins (1998a), Roweck & Savenkov (2007a), Sefrová (2005a), Stigter & van Frankenhuyzen (1992a), Tokár, Richter, Richter, ao (2010a), Wieser (2004a).