About Phycitodes binaevella Hübner
Phycitodes binaevella is a species of snout moth described by Jacob Hübner in 1813. It can be found across most of Europe, excluding Portugal, as well as in Asia Minor, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Territories. This moth has a wingspan of 18–27 millimetres (0.71–1.06 inches). Its forewings are distinctly widened, coloured pale brownish-ochreous, with the costal half suffused with white and scattered with a small number of dark fuscous scales. The first line is marked by a straight, oblique series of three large dark fuscous dots. The second line is pale, with an indistinct dark edge. Two large dark fuscous discal dots are placed transversely on the forewings. The hindwings are pale fuscous. The larva is pale green, with pink dorsal and subdorsal lines, and an interrupted pink spiracular line. Its head is reddish-brown, and the plate on its second segment is brownish towards the posterior end. Larvae develop inside the flower heads of Carduus lanceolatus. This species has one generation per year, with adults active on the wing from July to August. Larvae feed on Cirsium vulgare, plants of the genus Carduus, plants of the genus Aster, Tanacetum vulgare, and Artemisia vulgaris.
