Psyche cf. crassiorella

• Subfamily: Psychinae, Psychini
• Wingspan: 14-17 mm
• Flight period: May - Jul
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Geraniaceae, Poaceae, licheni

Information

The Psyche crassiorella is a small moth of the Psychidae family with a wingspan of 14-17 mm.
The Psyche crassiorella in Europe results absent from Ireland and Ukraine. *
In Italy it is also present in the islands. *

In the Alps it is found up to heights of 1,200 meters.
The front wings of the Psyche crassiorella are brown in color, with a silky appearance given by a thin down which, exposed to direct light, it provides a golden hue.
The hind wings are brown, fringed. The head, thorax and abdomen are in the background color of the wings, as are the bipinnate antennae.

Sexual dimorphism is very evident as the females are aptere (wingless), and live in the typical cases of the larval stage. Univoltine moth, adults are generally visible in the period between the months of May and July.
There are different habitats in which this moth can be found, gardens, young deciduous forests, meadows, even arid areas and coastal areas.

The larva of this species, like other representatives of this family, lives inside its own silky shell covered with plant residues. It is ocher / yellowish in color with brown / black longitudinal lines and a series of spots / dots of the same color in the spaces between them.** The head is orange / amber flecked with black.

The larva feeds on Geraniaceae (Geranium sanguineum), Poaceae and lichens.


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/