Cnephasia conspersana

Cnephasia conspersana
Cnephasia conspersana, Dinlle beach, North Wales
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Tortricidae
Genus:	Cnephasia
Species:	C. conspersana
Binomial name
Cnephasia conspersana Douglas, 1846
Synonyms
Cnephasia conspersana var. alboconspersana Pierce & Metcalfe, 1915 Cnephasia cretaceana Curtis, 1850 Cnephasia (Syndemis) decolorana Stephens, 1852 Sciaphila perterana Doubleday, 1850

Cnephasia conspersana is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in Ireland, Great Britain, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and North Africa. The habitat consists of coastal chalk downlands and heathlands.

For a key to the terms used, see Glossary of entomology terms.

The wingspan is 15–22 mm. The antennal cilia of the male are short. The thorax is crested. The elongate forewings have slightly arched costa, from vein 7 to apex. The ground colour is grey, irrorated or mixed with white, more strongly in the female. There is and angulated fascia at 1/3, slender and often indistinct dorsally. An irregular central fascia is sometimes interrupted near dorsum. The costal and terminal patches (seldom connected) are grey or fuscous, often blackish-marked, sometimes nearly obsolete. The hindwings are light fuscous or grey, in female darker, 6 and 7 short-stalked. The larva is pale greenish-grey; spots small, black; head and plate of 2 yellowish-brown: Julius von Kennel provides a full description.

Adults have been recorded on wing in July. There is generally one generation per year, although two have been reported from Ireland.

The larvae feed on the flowers of Dryas octopetala, Chrysanthemum, Taraxacum, Teucrium, Hieracium, Hypochoeris, Leontodon and Helianthemum species. They spin the petals of the flowers together, and feed from within.