Mesophleps oxycedrella

Mesophleps oxycedrella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Gelechiidae
Genus:	Mesophleps
Species:	M. oxycedrella
Binomial name
	Mesophleps oxycedrella; (Millière, 1871)
Synonyms
	Gelechia oxycedrella Millière, 1871;

Mesophleps oxycedrella is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It is found in Spain, Portugal, southern France, Italy and on Sicily the Canary Islands.

Larva with berry

The wingspan is 6.5–14 mm. The forewings are light yellow to ochre with distinct dark brown markings. Adults emerge in early July.

The larvae feed on the fruit of Juniperus oxycedrus, and . Young larvae bore into the fleshy part of the berry in mid-August. It overwinters there and feeds and grows again in early spring. Larvae are full-grown in March or April and they leave the fruit and descend to the ground on a silken thread to pupate. Full-grown larvae are 10–12 mm. They have a yellowish white or amber body with a pale ochre head.^[1]

References[]

^ Li, H.-h. & K. Sattler, 2012: A taxonomic revision of the genus Mesophleps Hübner, 1825 (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Zootaxa 3373: 1-82.

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[1] Li, H.-h. & K. Sattler, 2012: A taxonomic revision of the genus Mesophleps Hübner, 1825 (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Zootaxa 3373: 1-82.

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