Coleophora frischella (Linnaeus, 1758)
Frisch's Clover Moth
 (previously known as Tinea frischella)
COLEOPHORIDAE,   GELECHIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


(Photo: courtesy of Marko Mutanen)

These Caterpillars live in a portable case constructed of silk and detritus. The caterpillars feed on the seeds of

  • Strawberry Clover ( Trifolium fragiferum, FABACEAE ).


    drawing by John Curtis, listed as Adela frischella,
    British Entomology, 1833, Plate 463,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

    The adult moths are actually black, but have a yellow metallic sheen., except that the forewing tips are actually yellow. The moths have a wingspan of about 1 cm. Their antennae also each have a length of about 1 cm.

    The species occurs in the northern hemisphere, including

  • Canada,
  • Finland,
  • United Kingdom,

    as well as in Australia in

  • Tasmania.

    The species is thought to have been introduced into Australia accidentally. However, the moth is superficially similar to the deliberately introduced species Coleophora alcyonipennella, and can only be distinguished from it by dissecting the genitalia, so these species may have been confused in Australia.

    Further reading :

    John Curtis,
    British Entomology,
    Volume 6 (1833), p. 463.

    Carl Linnaeus,
    Insecta Lepidoptera,
    Systema Naturae,
    Volume 1, Edition 10 (1760), Class 5, Part 3, p. 541, No. 289.

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    (updated 17 October 2013, 8 January 2023)