''Scythris inspersella'', the Norfolk owlet, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

of the family Scythrididae, first described by the German

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

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 '' ...

in 1817. It has a

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical regi ...

distribution.

Description

The

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

is 13–15 mm. The forewings are black with blueish-white scales. The hindwings are dark ochreous brown. Adults are on wing from July to August, flying during the day, visiting flowers. The larvae feed (usually gregariously) on rosebay willowherb ('' Chamerion angustifolium''), broad-leaved willowherb ('' Epilobium montanum'') and great willowherb (''

Epilobium hirsutum ''Epilobium hirsutum'' is a flowering plant belonging to the willowherb genus ''Epilobium'' in the family Onagraceae. It is commonly known as the great willowherb, great hairy willowherb or hairy willowherb. Local names include codlins-and-cream ...

''). They spin the terminal shoots of their host plant together. Larvae can be found in June and July.

Distribution

The moth is found in Asia, Europe and North America. In Great Britain it was first found at

Hockwold Hockwold cum Wilton (''"Hock/mallow wood and willow-tree farm/settlement"'') is 10 miles west of Thetford, Norfolk, England and is in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. It is located near several USAF airbases, notably RAF Lakenheath a ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

in 1977, although not identified until 1980. It has since been found elsewhere in Norfolk, Yorkshire (2001) and

Tunstall Common Tunstall Common is a 36.6 hectare (90.4 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Tunstall in Suffolk. It is part of the Sandlings Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, an ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

References

External links

Plant Parasites of Europe
inspersella Moths described in 1817 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of North America Taxa named by Jacob Hübner {{Scythrididae-stub