Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Gelechiidae Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Athrips | |
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Athrips nigricostella is a moth of the Gelechiidae family. It is found in France, Germany, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine and Russia. It is also found in Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Far East, China (Xinjiang) and Japan.
The wingspan is 8–10 mm. The forewings are yellow, with the costal margin and apical area greyish black. There are two dark spots near the base, one spot near the costa and another dark spot at two-thirds near the posterior margin. The hindwings are light grey. Adults are on wing from April to June and again from Julyto August in two generations per year.
The larvae feed on Medicago sativa and Medicago minima. They spin together the terminal leaves of their host plant. Pupation takes place in a white cocoon between the spun leaves.