The buff arches (''Habrosyne pyritoides'') 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

Drepanidae The Drepanidae are a family of moths with about 660 species described worldwide. They are generally divided in three subfamilies) which share the same type of hearing organ. Thyatirinae, previously often placed in their own family, bear a superf ...

. The species was first described by

Johann Siegfried Hufnagel Johann Siegfried Hufnagel (17 October 1724, Falkenwalde, Prenzlau district, Brandenburg – 23 February 1795, Langenfeld, Sternberg district) was a German parson and entomologist (lepidopterist). Life Until the late 20th century nothing was known ...

in 1766. It is found throughout Europe and is well distributed in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

except the far north of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and all of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. They live in deciduous and coniferous forests with large populations of their foodplants, but also in gardens and parks. This is a distinctive and attractive species; its grey-brown forewings are marked with bold buff-orange "arches". The hindwings are grey with white margins. 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 40–45 mm. It flies from June to August and is attracted to light and sugar. The young caterpillars are dark brown to grey-brown and more clearly spotted than the later caterpillar stages. These are brown-red and have a narrow dark dorsal line with indistinct light side spots. They have white spots on the sides of the three front abdominal segments, which become smaller to the rear, or just such a spot on the first abdominal segment. The larva feeds on

bramble A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus ''Rubus'', which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. "Bramble" is also used to describe other prickly shrubs, such as roses (''Rosa'' species). The fruits inc ...

, hawthorn and

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999 ...

. The species overwinters as a

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

. This moth is one of many insects that has been badly affected by

light pollution Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive use of artificial lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day or night. Light po ...

with the species population declining by 62% since the 1970s. # ''The flight season refers to the

. This may vary in other parts of the range.'' Habrosyne pyritoides02.jpg Habrosyne pyritoides MHNT.CUT.2012.0.356.Crest-Voland.jpg, Both sides

Subspecies

*''Habrosyne pyritoides pyritoides'' (Europe, northern Iran) *''Habrosyne pyritoides derasoides'' (Butler, 1878) (south-eastern Russia, Korean Peninsula, Japan, China: Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Beijing, Hebei)

References

* Chinery, Michael ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe'' 1986 (Reprinted 1991) * Skinner, Bernard ''

The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles ''The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles (Macrolepidoptera)'' by Bernard Skinner is a single volume identification guide to the macromoths of Britain and Ireland published by Viking Books, often referred by moth recorde ...

'' 1984 * Helen Briggs, 'Light pollution from street lamps linked to insect loss', 26 August 2021. rl=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58333233

External links

*
''Lepiforum e.V.''
Thyatirinae Moths described in 1766 Drepanid moths of Great Britain Moths of Japan Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel {{Thyatirinae-stub