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Coleophora cytisicolella - new casebearer moth species from Austria and Hungary

· 2 minutes read
izeltlabuak.hu
izeltlabuak.hu

A new paper in ZooKeys describes Coleophora cytisicolella sp. nov., a new casebearer moth species discovered in Austria and Hungary.

Note about izeltlabuak.hu (arthropods)

The izeltlabuak.hu website primarily focuses on arthropods found in Hungary. This entry also deals with Hungarian fauna.

About the study​

The paper presents the description and taxonomic analysis of a new species in the Coleophoridae - casebearer moths family. Coleophora cytisicolella sp. nov. is currently known only from the Pannonian biogeographical region: Hungary and Austria. The first specimen was caught in 2021 at Oberweiden (Vienna Basin); Hungarian material was first collected in 2023 at Lovasberény, Kazal-hegy on Chamaecytisus austriacus. By 2024, nine more Hungarian localities had been recorded (Fejér, Pest, Tolna, Veszprém counties).

The species was confirmed by macro- and micromorphological (genitalia) study and COI DNA barcoding. The new taxon belongs to the Coleophora genistae species group; its closest relative is the southern Italian C. bruttia. Genitalia differ markedly between the two species, so the authors treat C. cytisicolella as a distinct species despite only moderate genetic divergence in barcode sequences.

Life history: Adults fly in April-May (single late records in July and August are also known; the authors leave open the possibility of a second generation). Larvae feed from early September and complete development in autumn. The final larval instar overwinters and pupates in spring without further feeding.

Host plant: So far only Chamaecytisus austriacus (Fabaceae). Whether the species is strictly monophagous remains under study.

In total 99 specimens (47 male, 52 female) were processed; the holotype is deposited in the Hungarian Natural History Museum (HNHM), reared from a larva from Lovasberény on Chamaecytisus austriacus. The species is new to science and is included in the Hungarian species list.

Source​

Attila Sándor Takács, Wolfgang Stark, Csaba Szabóky, Miklós Bozsó, Klaudia Kőszegi, Gábor Lendvai, Ignác Richter, Gábor Sramkó, Sándor Jordán (2026) - Coleophora cytisicolella sp. nov., a new species (Lepidoptera, Coleophoridae), from Austria and Hungary bred from Chamaecytisus austriacus - ZooKeys 1269: 265-281

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