Eriocrania (Dyseriocrania) subpurpurella (Haworth, 1828)

General information:

Tinea subpurpurella Haworth, 1828: 571. Type locality: England, Coomb Wood [sic] Type: Not designated, syntypes probably in coll. NHM, London.
Synonyms, misspellings, wrong determinations, etc.: Micropteryx fastuosella Zeller, 1839: 185. Type locality: Silesia, Groß-Glogau (now: Poland, Glogów). Infrasubspecific name. Adela donzelella Duponchel, [1840]: 408. Type locality: Central France. Junior subjective synonym.

Habit:

: Austria, Salzburg, city of Salzburg, Rainberg, 1971.04.20, leg. Fritz Mairhuber, coll. Haus der Natur	: Austria, Salzburg, Flachgau, Elixhausen, Ursprung, 1979.05.20, leg. Fritz Mairhuber, coll. Haus der Natur	: Austria, Salzburg, Alpenvorland, Bürmoos, 1989.04.16, leg. Nelwek Heimo, coll. Michael Kurz
Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view	Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view	Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view

Description of adults: Examined: 2 , 3 . Forewing length: 5.1 - 6.2 mm, 5.2 - 5.7 mm. Head dark-brown; vestiture of hair-like scales on the head and frons moderately dense, dirty white mixed brownish; diameter of eyes about 0.35 mm; distance between eyes about 1.5 times the diameter (frontal view); maxillary palpi long, folded, with close-fitting, beige scales; antennae brown, bronzy golden shining, underneath mixed whitish, about 3/5 of forewing length; thorax with sparse and distant, hair-like, dirty white and brownish mixed scales; metathorax with adpressed, bronzy golden scales; forewings elongate, golden to light bronzy golden with numerous scattered, purple to bright blue tiny spots; at the inner margin, basally of the the tornus, an indistinct, light yellow to whitish spot; further tiny, light yellow spots scattered across the wing, somewhat concentrated at the discus; fringe bronzy golden, partly also lighter mixed; hindwings with broad lanceolate scales, which do not completely cover the wing membrane in the basal half of the wing; hindwings basally bronzy golden, distally intensively tinged purple; fringe bronzy golden; legs ligth brown, golden shining; foretibia without epiphysis; mesotibia with a long and a second, much reduced spur at the end; hindtibia with a pair of spurs at about 0.65 of the tibial length and at the end; abdomen brownish, with mixed whitish and brownish scales. Remarks: The f. fastuosella has forewings with distinct purple and blue markings, arranged in cross-fasciae. The wing venation seems to be subject to considerable variation (Heath, 1983).

Distribution:

Following Heath (1983), the species is distributed throughout Europe, except the northernmost regions and the Iberian peninsula. Heath (1996) records the species also for Portugal and Spain. Following Karsholt & Nieukerken (2004), E. subpurpurella has been found throughout Europe except the central Balcans, Belarus, as well as the north and south of European Russia. Dubatolov (2012) records it also from the Ukraine, but from Siberia and the eastern Palaearctic region, it seems to be absent (anonymous 2012, Dubatolov 2012). Only few data are available on the vertical distribution of the species. These data reach from near sea level to 1000 m a.s.l. (Kurz & Kurz 2017).

Biology:

The adults fly in full sunshine in oak forests and at clearings lined with decidous oaks. At dull weather, they sit at the trunks and branches of the trees. Sometimes, they also come to light at night (Heath 1983). The animals are on the wing from mid April to May (Kurz & Kurz 2017).

Stages in development:

Mine on Quercus robur: Upper Austria, Innviertel, Reichersberg, 2011.05.08	Upper Austria, Innviertel, Reichersberg, 2011.05.08	Salzburg, Flachgau, Thalgau, Thalgauberg, 1989.05.20, leg. et coll. Michael Kurz
Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view	Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view	Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view

Morphology of preimaginal stages (Heath 1983). Egg. The eggs are deposited on leaf buds of Quercus ssp. Larva. The larva is whitish with a brown head. It feeds in a big, irregular, blotch-like mine in leaves of oak from May till July. Full-grown, it leaves the mine and spins a rough cocoon in the soil. Pupa. The pupa hibernates.

Anatomy:

Scheme of genitalia	-genitalia, prep. no. 468, M. Kurz: Salzburg, city of Salzburg, Rainberg, 1971.04.20, leg. Fritz Mairhuber, coll. Haus der Natur	Scheme of genitalia	abdomen, prep. no. 472, M. Kurz: Austria, Salzburg, Alpenvorland, Bürmoos, 1989.04.16, leg. Nelwek Heimo, coll. Michael Kurz
Picture from: © Zagulayev 1978 Detailed view	Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view	Picture from: © Zagulayev 1978 Detailed view	Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view
-genitalia, prep. no. 472, M. Kurz: Austria, Salzburg, Alpenvorland, Bürmoos, 1989.04.16, leg. Nelwek Heimo, coll. Michael Kurz	-genitalia, prep. no. 469, M. Kurz: Austria, Salzburg, Flachgau, Elixhausen, Ursprung, 1979.05.20, leg. Fritz Mairhuber, coll. Haus der Natur
Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view	Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view

Pregenital abdomen. Sternite V on both sides with a big, oval, weakly sclerotized spot each with comb-like surface (sensoric organ); females with additional, similar spots also on both sides of sternite IV, but these spots only one third the size of the spots on sternite V. genitalia. Male genitalia very compact; uncus with two big, triangular lobes, their posterior tips rounded, with short spinoid setae and several long setae within a distinctly delimited area; valves very much reduced, their posterior margin slightly emarginate, at the inner surface on the dorsal margin with 2 - 3 rows, at the posterior margin with 1 - 2 rows of short spinoid setae; vinculum at the posterior margin with a much sclerotized bow-like structure ventrally of the valves; this bow bearing a small area of tooth-like setae; branches of the saccus much shorter than the length of the ventral margin of the vinculum, triangle-shaped, anteriorly with a rounded tip; aedeagus 1.25 times the length of the ventral margin of the vinculum, very slender; paramere very slender too, of the same length as the aedeagus, with a rounded tip posteriorly. genitalia. Sternite IX (?) very much reduced, but strongly sclerotized, band-like, on both sides sickle-shaped bent anteriorly, interrupted in the middle and forming the ventral closure of a sharply defined indentation; this indentation reaches dorsally to the ovipositor, where it is strongly sclerotized again; tergite IX (?) very much reduced and modified, forming inside the abdomen a structure with two very slender, arrow-like branches; apophyses anteriores and posteriores very long, reaching anteriorly nearly to segment V; near the onset of the apophyses anteriores an expanded area of very short, spinoid setae; another strongly sclerotized, bar-like structure in longitudinal direction at the dorsal side, close to the end of the abdomen; tip of ovipositor dorsally multiple graduated; inner genital organs not sclerotized.

Diagnosis:

E. subpurpurella : Austria, Salzburg, Alpenvorland, Bürmoos, 1989.04.16, leg. Nelwek Heimo, coll. Michael Kurz	E. sparrmannella : Salzburg, Gois, Goiser Moos, 436m, 2012.04.25, leg. et coll. Christof Zeller	E. subpurpurella -genitalia, prep. no. 468, M. Kurz: Salzburg, city of Salzburg, Rainberg, 1971.04.20, leg. Fritz Mairhuber, coll. Haus der Natur	E. sparrmannella -genitalia, prep.-no. 1010, M. Kurz: Austria, Salzburg, Gois, Goiser Moos, 436m, 2011.04.17, leg. et coll. C. Zeller
Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view	Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view	Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view	Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view
E. subpurpurella -genitalia, prep. no. 469, M. Kurz: Austria, Salzburg, Flachgau, Elixhausen, Ursprung, 1979.05.20, leg. Fritz Mairhuber, coll. Haus der Natur
Picture from: Kurz Michael Detailed view

E. subpurpurella, especially its form fastuosella, is externally quite similar to Eriocrania (Eriocrania) sparrmannella (Bosc, 1791), although its wings are distinctly more elongate and its antennae are distinctly longer than half of the forwing length. The genitalia of both sexes of E. subpurpurella are quite characteristic. The males are best recognized by the shape of their valvae, the females by their strongly sclerotized sternite VIII.

Worth knowing:

Sources:

anonymous 2012. An Identification Guide of Japanese Moths Compiled by Everyone. URL: http://www.jpmoth.org [online 04 November 2012]. Dubatolov, V. V. 2012. Collection of Siberian Zoological Museum: Eriocraniidae. http://szmn.sbras.ru/Lepidop/Eriocran.htm [online 04 November 2012]. Duponchel, P. A. J. [1838–1840]. Nocturnes, 8. – In: J.-B. Godart, Histoire Naturelle des Lépidoptères ou Papillons de France 11. – Paris, Méquignon-Marvis. 720 pp., pls 287–314. Haworth, A. H. 1828. Lepidoptera Britannica, sistens digestionem novam insectorum lepidopterorum quae in Magna Britannia reperiuntur, lavarum pabulo, temporeque pascendi; expansione alarum; mensibusque volandi; synonymis atque locis observationibusque variis. Part 4. Londini, pp. 513–609. Heath, J. 1983. The moths and butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol.I: Micropterigidae – Heliozelidae. – Harley Books, Martins, Great Horkesley, Colchester, Essex. Heath, J. 1996. Family Micropterigidae – In: O. Karsholt & J. Razowski (eds), The Lepidoptera of Europa. A distributional checklist. – Apollo-Books, Stenstrup. Karsholt, O. 2004. Families Acanthopteroctetidae, Axiidae, Castniidae, Cossidae, Drepanidae, Eriocottidae, Eriocraniidae, Gelechiidae, Heterogynidae, Limacodidae, Lypusidae, Micropterigidae, Roeslerstammiidae, Somabrachyidae, Uraniidae. In: Karsholt, O. & E. J. van Nieukerken (eds.). Lepidoptera, Moths. – Fauna Europaea version 1.1, http://www.faunaeur.org [online 22 January 2009]. Kaltenbach, Th. & P.V. Küppers (1987): Kleinschmetterlinge: beobachten - bestimmen, Neumann-Neudamm, Melsungen Kurz, M. A. & M. E. Kurz 2000–2017. Naturkundliches Informationssystem. – URL: http://www.nkis.info [online 7 March 2017]. Zagulajev, A.K. 1978. Eriocraniidae; in G.S. Medvedev (ed.): Keys to the insects of the europaean part of the USSR, Vol.IV: Lepidoptera, part 1 (english translation), Oxonian Press Pvt.Ltd., New Dehli, 1987 Zeller, P. C. 1839. Versuch einer naturgemäßen Eintheilung der Schaben. – Isis, Leipzig [32]: 167–219.

Publication data:

history: Kurz Michael: 2009.03.26 Kurz Michael: 2009.05.11 Kurz Michael: 2012.11.03 Kurz Michael: 2012.11.04 Kurz Michael: 2012.11.26 Kurz Michael: 2013.07.04 Kurz Michael: 2014.02.16 Kurz Michael: 2015.10.19 Kurz Michael: 2017.03.07 Kurz Michael: 2017.03.08

not reviewed

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