''Emmiltis'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

genus in the family

Geometridae The geometer moths are moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyleti ...

. Its only species is ''Emmiltis pygmaearia''. Both the genus and species were first described by

Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796–1805), a founding work of entomology. Scientific career Hübner was the author of '' ...

, the genus in 1825 and the species in 1809.

Etymology

The species name ''pygmaearia'' comes from the Latin ''pygmaeus'' meaning ''dwarf'', because it is one of the smallest species.

Distribution and habitat

''Emmiltis pygmaearia'' is present in southeastern Europe (

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

). This xerothermophil species mainly occurs in dry, grassy, low-growing areas on stony ground, at an elevation up to above sea level.

Description

''Emmiltis pygmaearia'' can reach a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

of about . The basic color of these uncommon small moths varies from light brown to ocher, The forewings and the hindwings are crossed by three whitish wavy lines, with a darker border. Along the fringed checkered edge of the wings runs a thin line of brown. In this species the sexes are dimorphic. In fact in the males only the antennae are comb-like and it is much more evident the brown area near the internal corner of the rear wings.Gdoremi.altervista

Biology

This species has two generations a year (

bivoltine Voltinism is a term used in biology to indicate the number of broods or generations of an organism in a year. The term is most often applied to insects, and is particularly in use in sericulture, where silkworm varieties vary in their voltinism. ...

). Adults are active during the day in May-June and in July-August. In Summer caterpillars feed on flowers of lower plants (mainly

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

and

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranth ...

) ('' Cerastium tomentosum'', ''

Lotus corniculatus ''Lotus corniculatus'' is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae. Common names include common bird's-foot trefoil, eggs and bacon, birdsfoot deervetch, and just bird's-foot trefoil (a name also often applied to other ''Lotus'' spp.). It ha ...

'', ''

Ononis spinosa ''Ononis'' is a large genus of perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant t ...

'', '' Stellaria holostea'', ''

Stellaria media ''Stellaria media'', chickweed, is an annual flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Eurasia and naturalized throughout the world, where it is a weed of waste ground, farmland and gardens. It is sometimes grown as a salad ...

'', ''

Taraxacum officinale ''Taraxacum officinale'', the dandelion or common dandelion, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The common dandelion is well known for its yellow flower heads that turn into round balls of many silver-tuf ...

''). From autumn they hibernate on dry leaves of the host plants and after overwintering they live on the withered leaves. Pieris
Euroleps

External links

Lepiforum
* Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfil

Bibliography

*Hübner, J. 790-1833 Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge 5: pl. 1-113.

References

Sterrhini Monotypic moth genera {{Sterrhinae-stub