''Ceramica pisi'', the broom moth, 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

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family (biology), family of moths. Taxonomically, they are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly ...

. It is found in all of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, East across the

Palearctic 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. Th ...

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 ...

and the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

. In the north, it is found far beyond the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

and in the south to northern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. In the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, it is found at heights of up to 2,000 metres.

Description

The

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 ...

is 32–37 mm. The length of the forewings is 16–20 mm. Forewing red brown much mottled with darker; median shade prominently darker; the wavy whitish submarginal line forming a conspicuous white triangle on submedian fold; upper stigmata pale grey; claviform small, black-edged; hindwing dull fuscous, the basal half paler, with dark veins and lunule;- in ''splendens'' Stph. the brown tint is predominant and the markings are obscured; — in ''rufa'' Tutt, with the markings also obscured, the red tint overpowers the brown; while ''pallens'' Stgr. is pale yellowish grey brown, with the markings indistinct; this form is found in W.

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

and also in Iceland; – ''scotica'' Tutt is a dark purplish grey form from Scotland and England, Finland, Lapland, and E. Siberia.

Biology

The moth flies in two generations from mid-May to August. . Larva purple brown or brownish green, with four deep yellow stripes of uniform width; the head, feet, and venter flesh colour. The larvae feed on various shrubs, deciduous trees and herbaceous plants, such as heather (''

Calluna ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wide ...

'' sp.), broom (''

Cytisus scoparius ''Cytisus scoparius'' ( syn. ''Sarothamnus scoparius''), the common broom or Scotch broom, is a deciduous leguminous shrub native to western and central Europe. In Great Britain and Ireland, the standard name is broom; this name is also used fo ...

''), bracken (''

Pteridium aquilinum ''Pteridium aquilinum'', commonly called bracken, brake, pasture brake, common bracken, and also known as eagle fern, is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions in both hemispheres. Originally native to Eurasia and North ...

''), bramble (''

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. ...

'' sp.), sea-buckthorn (''

Hippophae ''Hippophae'', from Ancient Greek ἵππος (''híppos''), meaning "horse", and φάος (''pháos''), meaning "light", is a genus of flowering plants in the family Elaeagnaceae. They are deciduous shrubs. They are exceptionally hardy plants, ...

'' sp.), willow (''

Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

'' sp.) and the European larch (''

Larix decidua ''Larix decidua'', the European larch, is a species of larch native to the mountains of central Europe, in the Alps and Carpathian Mountains, with small disjunct lowland populations in northern Poland. Its life span has been confirmed to be clos ...

''). Ceramica pisi caterpillar (top view) - Keila.jpg, Caterpillar (top view) File:Ceramica pisi (14517771534).jpg,

Notes

#''The flight season refers to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. This may vary in other parts of the range.''

References

External links

Broom Moth at UKmoths
Taxonomy
Lepiforum.deVlindernet.nl waarneming.nl
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1348556 Ceramica (moth) Moths described in 1758 Insects of the Arctic Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of Iceland Moths of Japan Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus