Gelechiidae

35.084 Cotoneaster Webworm Athrips rancidella (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855)

pRDB2

Similar species:

Forewing: 5.5 to 6mm

Habitats: Gardens where Wall Cotoneaster is present.

Habits: The moth comes to light.

Foodplant: The larva feeds from a silk tube along a twig on Wall Cotoneaster. The tube is sometimes extended into a web across the leaves. It feeds on the underside of the leaves, leaving the upper surface transparent with a brownish discolouration. It pupates in a dense white cocoon in the larval spinning. On the European mainland it has also been recorded from Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Sour Cherry and Alder Buckthorn.