Prays ruficeps (Heinemann, 1854)

dark ash-bud moth

mine

Oviposition on the fruit stalk. From there a short gallery runs up. It soon sinks in; the larva eventually feeds on the seed

host plants

Oleaceae, monophagous

Fraxinus excelsior.

phenology

Larvae in July – August; possibly a later generation as well, of which the larvae live in the buds (Hering, 1957a).

BENELUX

BE not recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2010).

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

LUX not recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2010).

distribution within Europe

From Fennoscandia to the Pyrenees, Alps, and Hungary, and from Britain to the Ukraine (Fauna Europaea, 2010).

pupa

Described by Patočka & Turčáni (2005a).

synonyms

Prays rustica, rusticus Haworth, 1828.

notes

Not a leafminer!

references

Baldizzone (2004a), Bengtsson & Johansson (2011a), Hering (1957a), Huemer (2012a), Huisman & Koster (1995a), Huisman, Koster, van Nieukerken & Ulenberg (2001a, 2004a), Kuchlein & Donner (1993a), Kuchlein & de Vos (1999a), Leutsch (2011a), Patočka & Turčáni (2005a), De Prins & Steeman (2011a), Schütze (1899a), Skala (1951b), Skala & Zavřel (1945a), Wörz (1957a).