Orange swift

The orange swift or orange moth (Triodia sylvina) is a moth belonging to the family Hepialidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. It was previously placed in the genus Hepialus. It is distributed throughout Europe.

Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 5

Orange swift
Triodia sylvina, male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hepialidae
Genus:	Triodia
Species:	T. sylvina
Binomial name
Triodia sylvina (Linnaeus, 1761)
Synonyms
Phalaena (Noctua) sylvina Linnaeus, 1761 Alphus sylvinus (Linnaeus, 1761) Hepialus sylvina (Linnaeus, 1761) Hepialus sylvinus (Linnaeus, 1761) Bombyx hamma [Denis and Schiffermüller], 1775 Hepialus angulatus Fabricius, 1781 Phalaena multicolor Fourcroy, 1785 Hegialus crux Fabricius, 1787 Noctua angulum de Villers, 1789 Noctua c-album de Villers, 1789 Hepialus fauna Schrank, 1801 Hepialus cruxator Haworth, 1802 Hepialus angulator Haworth, 1802 Hepialus sylvinator Haworth, 1802 Hepialus pallidus Hormuzaki, 1894 Hepialus poecilus Hormuzaki, 1894 Hepialus kruegeri Turati, 1909 Hepialus victoriae Petkoff, 1914 Hepialus brunnescens Lempke, 1938 Hepialus pauper Lempke, 1938 Hepialus androgynus Agenjo, 1942 Hepialus pardoi Agenjo, 1942 Hepialus alfaroi Agenjo, 1942 Hepialus laincalvo Agenjo, 1942 Triodia nigrescens Lempke, 1961 Triodia obscura Lempke, 1961 Triodia pallida Lempke, 1961 Triodia reducta Lempke, 1961

This species has a wingspan of 32–48 mm. The male has rich orange forewings with two white bars forming a "V" shape. The hindwings are dark brown. The female is similar but generally larger and less brightly coloured. It flies at night from June to September and is attracted to light.

The larva feeds on the roots of various plants including bracken, dandelion, dock, hop and viper's bugloss. This species overwinters twice as a larva.

1. ^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.