Gelechia rhombella explained

Gelechia rhombella, the apple groundling, is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It is found in Europe, the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, southern Siberia, the Russian Far East,^[1] Korea and China (Gansu, Qinghai, Jilin).^[2]

The wingspan is 13–17 mm.^[3] Terminal joint of palpi as long as second. Forewings pale ochreous to light fuscous, sprinkled with black; a black spot along costa at base, and another at 2/3; stigmata black, plical minute, second discal usually forming a bent mark; a dark tornal spot ; sometimes a faint pale angulated fascia at 3/4; usually blackish terminal spots. Hindwings somewhat over 1, pale grey, darker terminally. Larva dark green, sides reddish-tinged ; subdorsal and spiracular lines whitish ; head dark brown ; plate of 2 black, bisected: between joined leaves of apple. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

The larvae feed on Malus species (including Malus domestica) and Pyrus communis.^[8]

Notes and References

1. et al. 2010: The gelechiid fauna of the southern Ural Mountains, part II: list of recorded species with taxonomic notes (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Zootaxa, 2367: 1–68. Preview
2. http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/455/45513512.pdf New Faunistic Data for the Family Gelechiidae in the Korean peninsula and NE China (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)
3. Web site: microlepidoptera.nl . 2013-10-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140701151526/http://microlepidoptera.nl/soorten/species.php?speciescode=330800&p=1 . 2014-07-01 . dead .
4. Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf Keys and description
5. Heath, J.,ed. 1976 The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland Vol. 4 Part 2
6. Langmaid, J. R., Palmer, S. M. & Young, M. R. [eds]. 2018 A Field Guide to the Smaller Moths of Great Britain and Ireland [3rd ed.]Reading, Berkshire. British Entomological and Natural History Society
7. https://lepiforum.org/wiki/page/Gelechia_rhombella lepiforum.de includes images
8. https://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=800 UKmoths