143 Teleiodes luculella

GELECHIIDAE | Gelechiinae | Litini

35.143 Teleiodes luculella (White Crescent)

ws: 10-12mm; May-Jun; deciduous oak (Quercus spp); common in oak woodland in England & Wales

Teleiodes luculella §2 male

ID: Forewing mottled grey-brown and blackish with a white arc touching the costa at ~1/5 and 1/2 and a pale costal spot at 2/3. The mottled ground colour is due to clusters of all black scales separated by grey-brown scales tipped whitish. The pale costal arc has a variable mix of white and pale yellow scales. Additional small clusters of pale scales may be seen at the forewing base, near the tornus, at the apex and on the termen. This species should be identifiable on external features. T.flavimaculella is somewhat similarly marked, but the proximal forewing markings include large clusters of orange-yellow scales.

Male genitalia
Abdominal S8 divided into separate dorsal and ventral plates; valvae symmetrical; gnathos absent*; uncus rounded or truncate > Teleiodes
The 5 British Teleiodes species have tubular valvae without bristles and a more or less elaborate juxta with a bristly bilobed apex.
T.vulgella has a globular base to the valvae which then narrow abruptly, a small notch in the uncus and an elongate tapering aedeagus
T.wagae has valvae that taper much more gradually making them the least tubular of the group (length ~3x width at base)
T.luculella and T.flavimaculella both have a stout aedeagus; they differ in the valvae which extend into a short spine in T.luculella but not in T.flavimaculella; the base of the valva also appears to be more abruptly expanded in T.luculella (and there is a possible difference in the shape of the antero-ventral margin of the uncus - rounded in T.lucullella, pointed in T.flavimaculella).
T.sequax is distinct in having an elongate uncus.
* The key in MBGBI4.2 is confused here - all Teleiodes species except T.sequax key from "gnathos absent or weak and easily overlooked" - but T.vulgella appears to have a distinct gnathos; and T.sequax keys from "gnathos simple" though it may be better characterised as 'weak and easily overlooked'.

Variation
Dissection
Male genitalia
Female genitalia

§1 New Forest, Hampshire; 20/06/2016; male; 5.7mm; to light
§2 New Forest, Hampshire; 20/06/2016; male; 5.6mm; to light
§3 Chobham Common, Surrey; 23/05/2017; male; fw 5.7mm; to light
§4 Chobham Common, Surrey; 23/05/2017; male; fw 6.0mm; to light
§5 Orlestone Forest, Kent; 04/06/2019; male
§6 Westcliff-on-sea, Essex; 05/07/2019; female; fw 4.8mm; to light
§7 Pound Wood, Essex; 20/05/2020
§8 ??; 2020; male
§9 Stour Wood, Essex; 06/06/2021
All images © Chris Lewis