Prays fraxinella
| Ash bud moth | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Praydidae |
| Genus: | Prays |
| Species: | P. fraxinella
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| Binomial name | |
| Prays fraxinella Bjerkander, 1784
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| Synonyms | |
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List
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Prays fraxinella, also known as the ash bud moth, is a moth of the family Plutellidae found in Europe. The larvae are leaf miners, feeding on the leaves and buds of ash trees.
Description
[edit]The wingspan is 14–18 mm. The head is white or greyish ochreous. Forewings are white or greyish-ochreous; some blackish dorsal strigulae; a triangular blackish blotch, lighter or mixed with whitish on costa, extending along costa from near base to 2/3; some irregular blackish marks towards termen; sometimes the whole wing is unicolorous dark fuscous. Hind wings are rather dark grey. The larva is greenish, marbled with red -brown above; dorsal line deep green; head pale brown, dark-spotted; 2 with two black spots.[1]
Adults are on wing from May to June and again in August in two generations depending on the location.[2]
Prays fraxinella has two colour forms, the typical white and black colouration and the melanic form f.rustica.
Recently,[when?] the form f.rustica, that has an orange head has been separated into an entirely new species, Prays ruficeps.
- Ovum
Eggs are laid on the twigs of ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and manna ash (Fraxinus ornus) in June and July.[3]
- Larva
When fully fed the larvae are 12 mm long and the body is greenish, with the head brown with black spots. As a juvenile leaf miner, the body is yellowish with a black head and anal plate, and as a bark miner the body is whitish.[3][4]
- Pupa
The larvae pupate in an open network cocoon and can be found in May or June.[3]
Gallery
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Ash leaflet mined by the young larva (1b); ash twigs beneath the bark of which the larva has burrowed (1b*) and an ash shoot eaten by the adult larva (1b**) -
Young larva -
Old larva -
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References
[edit]- ^ Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Keys and description
- ^ Kimber, Ian. "Ash Bud Moth Prays fraxinella (Bjerkander, 1784)". UKmoths. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- ^ a b c Agassiz, D J L (1996). Emmet, A Maitland (ed.). Yponomeutidae. In Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 3. Colchester: Harley Books. pp. 68–9. ISBN 0-946589-56-9.
- ^ Ellis, W N. "Prays fraxinella (Bjerkander, 1784) ash-bud moth". Plant Parasites of Europe. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- Bjerkander, C. (1784) Insect-Calender, for år 1784. Kongl. Vetenskaps Academiens nya Handlingar 5: 319–329. Stockholm (Johan Georg Lange).
- Millard, P. (2013) Prays fraxinella (Bjerkander) (Lep.: Praydidae) is not monophagous on Ash. The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation 125 (5): 171.
- Stainton, H. T. (1870) The natural history of the Tineina 11: I-XIII, 1-330, pl. I-VIII. London (John van Voorst) – Paris (Deyrolle) – Berlin (E. S. Mittler und Sohn). as Prays curtisellus.