Craniophora ligustri

Western Europe to central Europe to the Russian Far East, northern China, Japan, Korea. In the north, the range extends to southern Scandinavia, the Baltic States and central Russia (approximately St. North to St. Petersburg) as well as the Ukraine. However, on the Iberian Peninsula, the species is limited to the north. In the eastern Mediterranean, it reaches northern Greece with smaller isolated occurrence in central Greece and the Peloponnese. The distribution area also includes Israel, Asia minor and the Caucasus. It occurs in Cyprus.

The wingspan is 30–35 mm.Forewing purplish fuscous, more or less greenish-tinged, with a paler patch beyond the cell; prothorax conspicuously whitish. — ab. sundevalli Lampa is a form in which both forewing and thorax are entirely dark olive green.- ab. nigra Tutt has the forewing black throughout, without any green tinge, and has only been taken in the North of England; lastly, in ab. coronula Haw. the white apex is suffused with grey brown instead of green, with a white lunule on its inner edge.[1] The white patch distal to the reniform appears to resemble a crown, hence the name coronet.

The moth flies from April to September depending on the location. The caterpillars feed on Fraxinus excelsior, common lilac and Ligustrum vulgare.[2]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Craniophora ligustri.

• Coronet at UKmoths
• Funet Taxonomy
• Fauna Europaea
• Lepiforum.de
• Vlindernet.nl (in Dutch)