The burnet companion moth (''Euclidia glyphica'') is a

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 ...

of the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family (biology), family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwin ...

. It is found in most of the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The ...

, from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in the west to

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

and

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

in the east and south to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Technical description and variation

Forewing pale grey suffused with pale brown or uniform pale brown; the shadings dark olive brown; inner line pale, oblique and waved, followed by a brown band; outer line whitish, vertically waved, preceded by a brown band, the inner edge of which is the median line; at costa the outer line is excurved and accompanied by pale scales on each side; submarginal line obscure, followed by a darker diffuse band, forming a black blotch on costa: hindwing orange, the veins dark; base and inner margin fuscous; a blackish submarginal band, outwardly toothed at costa and middle; a dark terminal shade running up along veins. The more uniformly dark brown examples constitute the ab. ''suffusa'' Spul., the usual form in Britain; -ab. ''marginata'' Spul.has the subterminal area whitish ochreous; in the ab. ''obsoleta'' Strand the dark bands of the underside are wanting; the ab. ''tristicula'' Schultz is much darker than the type.

Biology

Larva yellowish brown or reddish brown; the dorsal line darker; head yellowish brown with two dark streaks. The larvae feed on ''

Viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

'', ''

Trifolium Clovers, also called trefoils, are plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest diversity ...

'' species (especially ''

Trifolium pratense ''Trifolium pratense'' (from Latin prātum, meaning meadow), red clover, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family, Fabaceae. It is native to the Old World, but planted and naturalised in many other regions. Description ...

''), ''

Medicago sativa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as we ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Vicia cracca ''Vicia'' is a genus of over 240 species of flowering plants that are part of the legume family (Fabaceae), and which are commonly known as vetches. Member species are native to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some other g ...

'', '' Lathyrus pratensis'', and ''

Hippocrepis comosa ''Hippocrepis comosa'', the horseshoe vetch, is a species of perennial flowering plant belonging to the genus '' Hippocrepis'' in the family Fabaceae. Description The overall appearance depends on its habitat: sometimes it forms upright clump ...

''.Heiko Bellmann, 2003 ''Der Neue Kosmos Schmetterlingsführer, Schmetterlinge, Raupen und Futterpflanzen'', S. 260, Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 2003,

References

External links

Burnet companion (''Euclidia glyphica'') on ''UKMoths''''Lepiforum e.V.''''De Vlinderstichting''
Euclidia Moths described in 1758 Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Euclidiini-stub