Cybosia mesomella

Cybosia mesomella
Cybosia mesomella f. albescens (ivory-colored form)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Clade:Euarthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Superfamily:Noctuoidea
Family:Erebidae
Genus:Cybosia
Species: C. mesomella
Binomial name
Cybosia mesomella
Synonyms
  • Phalaena mesomella Linnaeus, 1758
  • Noctua eborina Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775
  • Phalaena quatrilis Geoffroy, 1785
  • Noctua eborea Esper, 1787
  • Lithosia lutarella Haworth, 1809
  • Cybosia mesomella eremella Vorbrodt, 1914
  • Cybosia mesomellula Strand, 1922
  • Cybosia albida Catherine, 1922
  • Cybosia obscura Lempke, 1961
  • Cybosia cremella Krulikovski, 1908
  • Cybosia flava Preissecker, 1909
  • Cybosia mesomella f. flavobscura Lempke, 1964
  • Cybosia mesomella f. postnigrescens Lempke, 1964
  • Cybosia mesomella ab. postpallida Cockayne, 1951
  • Cybosia mesomella f. postpallida Lempke, 1964

[1]

Cybosia mesomella, the four-dotted footman, is a moth of the family Erebidae.[2]

Forms

  • Cybosia mesomella f. flava (yellow)
  • Cybosia mesomella f. albescens (ivory-coloured)

[3]

Description

The wingspan is 25–33 mm.[4][5] The basic color of the forewings may be yellow or ivory- greyish with yellow borders. The forewings show in the middle four small black dots (hence the common name of this species).[4] The hind wings are gray, sometimes with yellowish edges. The thorax and the abdomen are whitish, covered with fine hairs.

Biology

Cybosia mesomella f. flava (yellow form)

This species has one annual generation. Females lay eggs in early July on the larva food plants. The eggs hatch in August or early September, the larvae overwinter and pupate the following spring, from May up to at the beginning of June. The moths fly at dusk from June to mid-August depending on location. The larvae feed mainly after dark on low vegetation such as heather, willows, Leontodon autumnalis and Vaccinium uliginosum. They are lichen and algae feeders like most other lithosiines.[1][5][6]

Distribution

This species can be found in most of Europe except Spain, in the East Palearctic ecozone and in the Near East.[1][7]

Habitat

Cybosia mesomella prefers warm, moist and sunny environment, deciduous and mixed forests, heaths, moorland, damp grassland, fens, wet meadows and open woodlands.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Funet
  2. ↑ Biolib
  3. ↑ Günter Ebert (Hrsg.): Die Schmetterlinge Baden-Württembergs Band 5, Nachtfalter III (Sesiidae, Arctiidae, Noctuidae). Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1997. ISBN 3-800-13481-0
  4. 1 2 Four-dotted Footman on UKmoths
  5. 1 2 3 Hantsmoths
  6. ↑ Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfili Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
  7. ↑ Fauna europaea
  • Witt, T.J. & L. Ronkay, 2011: Lymantriinae and Arctiinae - Including Phylogeny and Check List of the Quadrifid Noctuoidea of Europe. Noctuidae Europaeae Volume 13: 1-448.


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