Caryocolum leucomelanella

Caryocolum leucomelanella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Gelechiidae
Genus:	Caryocolum
Species:	C. leucomelanella
Binomial name
Caryocolum leucomelanella (Zeller, 1839)
Synonyms
Gelechia leucomelanella Zeller, 1839 Lita leucomelanella Phthorimaea leucomelanella Gnorimoschema leucomelanellum Gelechia gypsophilae Stainton, 1869 Lita gypsophilae Caryocolum leucomelanellum Gnorimoschema gypsophilae Caryocolum gypsophilae

Caryocolum leucomelanella is a moth of the Gelechiidae family. It is found in most of Europe, except Ireland, Great Britain, the Benelux, Portugal, Fennoscandia and the Baltic region.^[1] It is also found in Russia (the Ural Mountains and Siberia: Altai, Transbaikalia and Tuva).^[2]

Mine

The length of the forewings is 3.5–5 mm for males and 4-5.5 mm for females. The forewings are blackish with an orange-brown subcostal streak near the base and with white markings.^[3]

The larvae feed on Petrorhagia saxifraga, Dianthus carthusianorum, Dianthus sylvestris and possibly Dianthus gratianopolitanus and Dianthus seguieri. They have been recorded feeding in shoots, but also boring the stem, creating small stem-galls. Pupation takes place in a cocoon on the ground at the end of April. Larvae can be found from the beginning of May to June.

References

1. Fauna Europaea
2. Junnilainen, J. et al. 2010: The gelechiid fauna of the southern Ural Mountains, part II: list of recorded species with taxonomic notes (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Zootaxa, 2367: 1–68. Preview
3. Huemer, P (1988). "A taxonomic revision of Caryocolum (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology 57: 439–571.