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| Insects of Britain and Ireland: the families of Lepidoptera |
Adults relatively long-bodied; medium built (wingspan more than 8 and less than 15 times the thoracic width); wings in repose packed with the forewings directed backwards to cover hindwings and abdomen.
Head rough (above, the face smooth). Antennae long to very long; extending to about 0.8–1 times the length of the forewing. Antennae of males simple; simply-ciliate (the cilia long and fine). The antennal scape with projecting scales; expanded laterally and concave beneath, forming an ‘eye cap’ (this ‘broad’). Chaetosemata absent. Maxillary palps much reduced; not folded. Labial palps well developed; drooping (short, filiform, pointed). Proboscis fully developed.
Wingspan 6–11 mm; 12–14 times the thoracic width. Wings aculeate (strewn with minute spines). Forewings with their apices conspicuously bent up or down when the insect is at rest, or without up- or down-turned apices when the insect is at rest (?); narrow; about 3.8–4.2 times as long as wide. Tornus undetectable. Forewings predominantly shining-metallic (bronzy), or neither shining-metallic nor with shining metallic markings; ground colour predominantly yellow, or light brown to dark brown, or coppery red (ochreous-yellow or bronzy-fuscous). Hindwings narrow-elongate and very long-fringed; linear to linear-lanceolate; very much narrower than the forewings to quite markedly narrower than the forewings; with a pointed apex. The fringe of the hindwings about 4 times the width of the membrane. The upper surfaces plain; with neither discal spot nor transverse lines; hindwings with a frenulum (strong in males, represented by a more distal group of costal spines in females).
Neuration of forewings and hindwings dissimilar. Forewings with well developed neuration to with greatly reduced neuration (veins 3 and 6 absent); 11 veined (lacking veins 3 and 6); with 2 anal veins. The anal veins of the forewings comprising 1b and 1c. Forewings exhibiting a tubular vein 1c, or lacking a tubular vein 1c (?). Vein 1b of the forewings simple. Forewings with a discal cell. Discal cell of the forewings without a tubular media (M) vein. Forewings with 10 separate veins reaching the margin. Hindwings with greatly reduced neuration (lacking veins 3, 4, 6, and the transverse vein between 2 and 5); 5 veined, or 6 veined; with 1 anal vein, or with 2 anal veins (? - uninterpretable); without a discal cell. The transverse vein incomplete (missing between veins 2–5).
Fore-legs with a tibial epiphysis (?). Tibiae of middle legs 2-spurred. Posterior tibiae 4-spurred; hairy.
Eggs, larvae and pupae. Larval prolegs more or less 0 (the legs vestigial), or 10. Larvae concealed feeders; leaf-mining (in blotch mines, ejecting excrement through a hole in the cuticle).
Pupae concealed (in the mine, with or without a cocoon); above the ground; in leaves. Empty pupae protruded from place of concealment.
British representation. Genera 2 (Emmetia, Tischeria); 6 species.
Classification. Microlepidoptera. Suborder Ditrysia. Superfamily Tischerioidea.
Illustrations. • Tischeria ekebladella (as T. complanella), Emmetia marginea and Emmetia angusticolella: Stainton 3, I (1858). TISCHERIIDAE. 1, Tischeria ekebladella: imago (1m), larva (1a), and mined oak leaf (1b). 2, Emmetia marginea: imago (2m), larva (2a), and mined Rubus leaf (2b). 3, Emmetia angusticolella: imago (3m), larva (3a), and mined rose leaflet (3b). Stainton 3, I (1858). • Stainton 3, I (1858): original legend.. • Tischeria and Emmetia: Stainton (1854). 4a-4c, Tischeria ekebladella: fore- and hind-wings, and head from the front. 26, Emmetia marginea. From Stainton (1854, Plates VIII and IX). • Emmetia marginea: Stainton (1859). • Stainton's representative 'Tineina'. Stainton's TINEINA (Tischeriidae italicised). 2, Ochsenheimeria birdella; 3, Tinea ganomella; 4, Eriocrania salopiella; 5, Nemophora metallica; 6, Swammerdamia pyrella; 7, Yponomeuta sedella; 8, Plutella xylostella; 9, Ypsolopha dentella; 10, Agonopterix alstroemeriana; 11, Pexicopia malvella; 12, Chrysoesthia drurella; 13, Ypsolopha parenthesella; 14, Schiffermuelleria grandis; 15, Scythris grandipennis; 16, Glyphipteryx equitella; 17, Heliozela resplendella; 18, Argyresthia bonnetella; 19, Caloptilia alchimiella; 20, Coleophora lineola; 21, Bedellia somnulentella; 22, Cosmopteryx lienigiella; 23, Mompha propinquella; 24, Elachista gangabella; 25, Elachista maculicerusella; 26, Emmetia marginea; 27, Phyllonorycter acerifoliella; 28, Phyllonorycter stettinensis; 29, Leucoptera malifoliella; 30, Ectoedemia sericopeza. From Stainton (1854, Plate IX). • Tischeria ekebladella. • Larvae of 'Tineina' (Stainton). 1, OECOPHORIDAE: Diurnea fagella larva, and (1a) shown between united birch leaves. 2, PSYCHIDIDAE: Taleporia(?) larva, showing cases attached to lichen (2a), and a single case enlarged. 3, YPONOMEUTIDAE: Ochsenheimeria taurella, and (3a) a section of grass stem showing the larva in situ. 4, TINEIDAE: Tineola bisselliella, with a gallery formed in feathers (4a); 4b, a case of Tinea pellionella on a feather. 5, INCURVARIIDAE: Incurvaria praelatella, with a partially devoured wild strawberry leaf (5a), and a case from the underside. 6, Incurvaria pectinea, and (6a) the larva in its case feeding on a fallen oak leaf. 7, Lampronia capitella, with (7a) a currant shoot withering from the effects of the larva feeding in the stem. 8, YPONOMEUTIDAE: Swammerdamia pyrella, with (8a) the larva in its web between united cherry leaves. 9, Yponomeutidae-Plutellinae: Plutella porrectella, and (9a) feeding on a Hesperis leaf. 10, GLYPHIPTERIGIDAE: Orthotelia sparganella, with (10a) an eaten stem of Sparganium. 11. OECOPHORIDAE: Depressaria sp., with (11a) a leaf of Centaurea nigra distorted by its attentions. 12, GELECHIIDAE: Anacampsis temerella, with (12a) a sallow leaf tenanted by it. 13, Metzneria aestivella, with (13a) a sectioned fruiting head of Carlina showing the feeding larva in situ. 14, OECOPHORIDAE: Crassa unitella, and (14a) a piece of decayed wood burrowed by the larvae. 15, GLYPHIPTERIGIDAE: Glyphipteryx equitella, with (15a) shoots of Sedum acre showing the middle one bleached by excavations of the larva. 16, YPONOMEUTIDAE: Argyresthia bonnetella, with (16a) hawthorn shoots eaten by the larva. 17, GRACILLARIIDAE: Caloptilia alchimiella, with (17a) an oak lead exhibiting a cone formed by the larva. 18, OECOPHORIDAE: Agonopterix angelicella, with (18a) its cone on a hawthorn leaf. 19, COLEOPHORIDAE: Coleophora follicularis, with (19a) a mined leaf of Eupatorium, and (19b) the case enlarged. 20, LYONETIIDAE: Bedellia somnulentella, with (20a) a mined Convolvulus arvensis leaf. 21, EPERMENIIDAE: Epermenia chaerophyllellus, with (21a) a portion of Anthriscus sylvestris leaf eaten half through by it. 22, MOMPHIDAE: Chrysoclista linneella, with (22a) a piece of inner bark of lime burrowed by it. 23, ELACHISTIDAE: Elachista maculicerusella. with (23a) a mined Phragmites leaf blade. 24, TISCHERIIDAE: Emmetia marginea, and (24a) a mined bramble leaf. 25, GRACILLARIIDAE: Phyllonorycter quinnata, with (25a) a mined Carpinus leaf. 26, LYONETIIDAE: Leucoptera laburnella, with (26a) a mined Laburnum leaf. 27, Bucculatrix bechsteinella (Bucculatricidae), and a hawthorn leaf eaten half through. 28, NEPTICULIDAE: Nepticula sp., with (28a) a mined Potentilla leaf. From Stainton (1854, Plate X). • Tischeria ekebladella: neuration.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. Insects of Britain and Ireland: the families of Lepidoptera. Version: 14th April 2022. delta-intkey.com’.
