70.193 Aplocera efformata (Lesser Treble-bar)
fw: 16-19mm; bivoltine May-Jun, Aug-Sep;
Hypericum spp (St John’s worts); common in S.England, local in N.England and
Wales.
ID: Very similar to A.plagiata (Treble-bar), which is larger (fw 19-22mm). Males are best distinguished by examination of the abdominal apex, which is pointed in A.plagiata due to its long straight valvae (visible ventrally in live specimens) and blunt in A.efformata due to its valvae being short and bent medially. Basal cross-band is angled >=90deg in A.plagiata, <=90deg in A.efformata; cross-bands generally less intense in A.efformata. Females may need genital dissection for confident identification of individuals with fw around 19mm. A.praeformata (Purple Treble-bar) is an extremely rare migrant with only 2 British records; it is larger (fw 20-25mm) and has a short brown bar distal to the central portion of the median cross-band. The rare form form fibriata (of A.efformata) lacks the median cross-band.
Dissection
Male genitalia
§1 Foulness, Essex; 17/05/2009; male
§2 Foulness, Essex; 18/08/2018; male; fw15.2mm
All images © Chris Lewis
§2 Foulness, Essex; 18/08/2018; male; fw15.2mm
All images © Chris Lewis
Page published 01/03/2014 (§1) | §2 added 05/02/2019