Trifurcula subnitidella is a moth of the family Nepticulidae. It is widespread in Europe southward to the northern border of the Sahara in Tunisia and eastward to the Crimea and Asia minor.
The wingspan is 4.2-5.8 mm for males and 4.4-5.4 mm for females. The head hair and collar are both greyish-brown.The eyecaps are white. The antennae are just over half the forewing length. The forewings coarsely scaled and speckled greyish-brown, on the underside the male has an oblong, yellow spot. The hindwings are grey, in the male with a velvety patch of scent scales on the underside lepiforum.de includes imagesZagulajev, A.K., 1987 Nepticulidae (Stigmellidae); in G.S. Medvedev (ed.): Keys to the insects of the europaean part of the USSR, Vol.IV: Lepidoptera, part 1 (english translation), Oxonian Press Pvt.Ltd., New Dehli, 1987 Emmet, A. M., 1976. Nepticulidae. — In: J. Heath (ed.). The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland 1: 171—267, pls. 1—7, 11, 12. Certain identification requires microscopic examination of the genitalia.
Larvae have been found in September and October and adults are on wing from May (March in Tunisia) to early September.
The larvae feed on Lotus corniculatus and possibly other Lotus species. They mine the bark of their host plant. The frass is brown and deposited in a central line. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.
References
External links
The Trifurcula Subnitidella Group (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae): Taxonomy, Distribution and Biology Fauna Europaea Swedish moths Image and Swedish text Figures of genitalia