Carpatolechia fugitivella

Carpatolechia fugitivella
Carpatolechia fugitivella
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Gelechiidae
Genus:	Carpatolechia
Species:	C. fugitivella
Binomial name
Carpatolechia fugitivella (Zeller, 1839)
Synonyms
Gelechia fugitivella Zeller, 1839 Teleiodes fugitivella Klaussattleria vovkella Piskunov, 1973 Teleiodes vovkella Carpatolechia fugitivella deserta Emelyanov, 1982 Teleia fugitivella ab. melanella Romaniszyn, 1933

Carpatolechia fugitivella, the elm groundling, is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It is found in almost all of Europe (except Portugal, Croatia and Bulgaria), Turkey, the Caucasus, Mongolia, southern Siberia, the Russian Far East and Korea. It is also found in Canada, where it has been recorded from Ontario and Quebec. The habitat consists of woodland, parks, gardens and hedgerows.

The wingspan is 11–15 mm. The head is whitish, grey sprinkled. Terminal joint of palpi longer than second. Forewings are grey, irrorated with blackish; suffused blackish spots on costa near base and before and beyond middle; a blackish streak along fold, sometimes interrupted into two or three spots; two black dots transversely placed in disc at 2/3; a pale angulated fascia at 3/4 sometimes indicated by darker anterior suffusion. Hindwings are grey. The larva is light green, above reddish-tinged; dots black; head and plate of 2 light brown.

Adults have been recorded on wing from June to September.

The larvae feed on Ulmus species (including Ulmus glabra), Quercus, Corylus, Prunus avium, Pyracantha coccinea, Acer, Tilia and Fraxinus species. It lives between the spun buds and shoots of their host plant. Larvae can be found from August onwards. After overwintering, they are active up to April or May when pupation takes place in a white cocoon.