Pyroderces caesaris

Pyroderces caesaris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Cosmopterigidae
Genus:	Pyroderces
Species:	P. caesaris
Binomial name
Pyroderces caesaris Gozmany, 1957[1]

Pyroderces caesaris is a moth in the Cosmopterigidae family. It is found in Spain, Sardinia, Sicily, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine.^[2]

The wingspan is 13–15 mm. Adults are on wing from the end of May to the beginning of fall in one generation per year.

The larvae feed on Echinops ruthenicus, Centaurea orientalis, Centaurea salonitana and Cirsium sublaniflorum. They bore the flowers of their host plant and mainly feed on young fruit. After overwintering they feed on last year's fruit, but have also been recorded feeding on the pupae of other insects. Pupation takes place in the pappus of the fruit.

References

1. lepiforum.de
2. Fauna Europaea