which is its foodplant. The caterpillar has also been introduced into Canada for the same reason. The caterpillar is white with a brown head, and feeds by boring into the stems of its food plant.

(Photo: courtesy of the Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

The adult moth has off-white forewings, each with dark brown markings including a patch at the base, a band across the middle, and along the margin. The hindwings are plain greyish-brown. The head and thorax are dark brown. The moth has a wingspan of about 14 mm.

(Photo: courtesy of Bavarian Natural History Collections (SNSB), Zoologische Staatssammlung Muenchen)

The species is native to Europe and Asia, occurring for example in

It has been released in Australia in

The genus of this moth is controversial.

Further Reading:

D.A. McLaren,
Observations on the life cycle and establishment of Cochylis atricapitana (Lrp : Cochylidae),
a moth used for biological control of Senecio jacobaea in Australia,
Entomophaga,
Volume 37, Number 4 (1992), pp. 641-648.

James Francis Stephens,
Lepidoptera,
List of the specimens of the British animals in the collection of the British Museum,
Part 10 (1852), p. 103.

Susan Turner & Sandy Cesselli,
Cochylis atricapitana (Tansy ragwort root crown feeding moth) – Operational Field Guide,
Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, British Columbia, Canada (2013).

previous caterpillar

Australian butterflies

Australian Lepidoptera

Australian moths

next caterpillar

(updated 2 September 2008, updated 22 February 2014, 6 July 2019, 17 July 2020)