Scythropia crataegella is a small
moth is widespread almost all over
Europe; it is absent from
Great Britain north of
The Lake District, and has also not been recorded yet on
Iceland and
Ireland (where it is probably genuinely absent), in
Portugal (where it may be absent), and in
Slovenia (where it probably occurs but has not been found yet, as its range includes the surrounding countries). It is quite common throughout its range. The
nocturnal adults are attracted to light sources; on Great Britain they are only commonly seen in July, but elsewhere they may be found from late May to September and have two
generations per year. The wingspan of adults is 11–15 mm. As usual for the Yponomeutidae, the forewings have a bold black-and-white pattern: two thick but irregular black bands divide the white forewings into roughly equal inner, middle and outer parts, and the white between the bands has numerous small black spots. The hindwings are dusky greyish-brown and unadorned. The body is whitish. The
caterpillar larvae feed in large groups from the safety of a
silken web they produce together; young larvae are
leaf miners. The mainstay food is leaves of
Crataegus (hawthorn), hence the species' name. But they have also been recorded from other
Amygdaloideae, e.g.
blackthorn (
Prunus spinosa) and other
Prunus species,
Cotoneaster, as well as
Malus sylvestris and
Pyrus (pear). ==References==