Phthorimaea operculella, Crete - photo © K. Bormpoudaki
Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller, 1873)
MOTH INFO
Phthorimaea operculella is a moth of the family Gelechiidae on the island of Crete, Greece.
Scientific name
Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller, 1873)
Gelechia operculella (Zeller, 1873)
Gelechia terrella (Walker, 1864)
Bryotropha solanella (Boisduval, 1874)
Gelechia tabacella (Ragonot, 1879)
Gelechia sedata (Butler, 1880)
Gelechia piscipellis Howard, 1897)
Phthorimaea argentinae (Povolný, 1989)
Common name
Potato Tuber Moth, Tobacco Splitworm
Classification
Superfamily: Gelechioidea > Family: Gelechiidae > Subfamily: Gelechiinae > Tribus: Gnorimoschemini > Genus: Phthorimaea
Wingspan
12-19 mm
Habitat
Warm areas with crops and fields where the larval food plants exist.
Food plant
The larva is oligophagous on Solanaceae (Hyoscyamus albus, Lycium europaeum, Lycopersicon, Nicotiana glauca, Nicotiana tabacum (Tobacco), Solanum tuberosum (Potato)) and feeds on the tubers, roots, and foliage.
It is especially known for being a major pest of potato crops.
Flight period
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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