Coleophora ibipennella

Tentative ID by self - will try to get confirmation ...

comments (11)

Christine Young

Lion

What an interesting case with an unusual shape! Posted 6 years ago
1. Pudding4brains
  
  Lion
  
  More strangely still - these are a wild construction of mixed home made parts and particles all sorts and still somehow the overall appearance is "typical" for one species or the other, like the clearly different other one I posted earlier:
  
  Posted 6 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    The shape is so fascinating and makes me wonder why they make their cases that way. What is the benefit and what are they "thinking"...Or, at least what is their DNA "thinking". Anyway, very cool post <3. Posted 6 years ago
  2. 1. Pudding4brains
      
      Lion
      
      Haven't got the faintest, except maybe that the cases look somewhat like bird-poo and hence probably not very appetizing to many predators? Posted 6 years ago
    2. 1. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Oh, eww. Good point, I hadn't considered that. Posted 6 years ago

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Arp, no rush, but when you have a moment, would love to hear your thoughts on whether this is the same species:

Posted 4 years ago, modified 4 years ago
1. Pudding4brains
  
  Lion
  
  Hi Ferdy, there are a few species with roughly similar looking "pistol cases", but from what I could find the white membrane in the "trigger area", combined with the host Oak, seems to be enough for the ID. Then again I'm no expert for these ... I suggest you just "identify" it as such and I'll check with an expert next time I talk to one and if they tell me it's questionable I'll get back to you on this, but I'm assuming it should be okay for now. Posted 4 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Thanks so much! Posted 4 years ago
  2. 1. Pudding4brains
      
      Lion
      
      Update: Ingrid Altmann from Bavaria, Germany saw this post and sent me a link to a nice (although somewhat older) PDF that contains more info on the various cases and hosts of Coleophora spp. :
      
      Patzak, Helmut (1974) Beiträge zur Insektenfauna der DDR: Lepidoptera — Coleophoridae. - Beitr. Ent., Berlin, vol.24(5/8), pp.158-278.
      https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Beitraege-zur-Entomologie_24_0153-0278.pdf
      
      From this it would seem that:
      1) The case of Coleophora nemorum is almost equal. This is not a problem as today C. nemorum is seen as a synonym of C. ibipennella :o)
      2) The cases of Coleophora anatipennella look quite similar (figs.39 & 40, pg.179) and in theory this species may rarely also occur on Oak. Comparing the cases of anatipennella and ibipennella on lepiforum.de leads me to conclude that our cases look much more like ibipennella and as this species is also predominant on oak I'd say it would be very unlikely to have these confused with anatipennella:
      http://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Coleophora_Ibipennella
      http://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Coleophora_Anatipennella
      So, I'd stick to the ID as is, but it may be nice to have this info with it ...
      Cheers, Arp Posted 4 years ago
    2. 1. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        Fantastic answer, thanks so much. Added it to the species record. Posted 4 years ago
      2. Pudding4brains
        
        Lion
        
        Excellent! Posted 4 years ago

The Coleophora ibipennella

''Coleophora ibipennella'' is a moth of the case-bearer family. It is found in Europe from central Scandinavia southwards, as well as in North Africa and in the Near East to Lebanon.

Info 2 0

Similar species: Moths And Butterflies

Species identified by Pudding4brains