73.214 Cosmia diffinis (White-spotted Pinion)
fw: 14-16mm (Waring & Townsend); Jul-Sep; elms (Ulmus spp); pRDB in woodland with elms mainly in East Anglia
Cosmia diffinis (White-spotted Pinion) §2 male
ID: C.diffinis/affinis/pyralina (White-spotted/Lesser-spotted/Lunar-spotted Pinion) share a brownish ground colour, an angular postmedian line and a resting posture with the wings pulled tightly into the body so that they are almost perpendicular to the substrate. C.diffinis has broad bold white spots at the costal end of the antemedian and postmedian lines. C.affinis also usually has the costal end of these lines white, sometimes indistinctly so, but they are not expanded into broad bold white spots. C.pyralina has a diffuse whitish mark at the costal end of the postmedian line. The dorsal half of the antemedian line is fairly straight in C.diffinis, but sinuous in C.affinis and C.pyralina. C.affinis has a dark fuscous hindwing with a broad blackish border contrasting with pale golden cilia; C.diffinis and C.pyralina have pale brown hindwings, contrasting little with the cilia.
Male genitalia:
Female genitalia:
Male genitalia:
Female genitalia:
§1 Middlewick Ranges, Essex; 23/08/2023; female; fw 15.0mm
§2 Fingringhoe, Essex; 01/08/2024; male; fw 14.2mm
§3 Fingringhoe, Essex; 01/08/2024; male; fw 15.0mm
All images © Chris Lewis
§2 Fingringhoe, Essex; 01/08/2024; male; fw 14.2mm
§3 Fingringhoe, Essex; 01/08/2024; male; fw 15.0mm
All images © Chris Lewis
Page published 25/08/2023 (§1) | dissection images added 24/12/2023 | §2&3 added 13/10/2024
