''Eurrhypis pollinalis'' is a species of

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

Crambidae The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies includ ...

. It was described by

Michael Denis Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis, also: ''Sined the Bard'', (27 September 1729 – 29 September 1800) was an Austrian Catholic priest and Jesuit, who is best known as a poet, bibliographer, and lepidopterist. Life Denis was born at Schärd ...

and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775.

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 28–33 mm. The forewings and hindwings are dark brown to almost black. On the forewing there are two large white spots. The hindwings show one white spot and a short streak, but they are smaller than the markings of the forewing. Both wings are lined with white on the outer edge. These moths fly in the sun during the day from April to August depending on the location, with two overlapping generations per year. They overwinter as a caterpillar. The caterpillars feed on a restricted range of legumes ( Fabaceae), such as broom ('' Genista''), liquorice ('' Glycyrrhiza''), '' Laburnum anagyroides'', '' Cytisus scoparius'' and ''

Ononis repens ''Ononis repens'', the common restharrow, is a plant species of the genus '' Ononis''. Description It is a prostrate (maximum height 60cm) woody perennial, spreading by rhizomes. It has hairy stems and small oval leaves with toothed edges. ...

''.

Distribution

This species is present in southern and central Europe.

Habitat

These moths prefer warm, sunny locations in open countryside. In the mountains they live up to an elevation of 1500 meters.

External links

Fauna Europaea

Pyraustinae Keys
Eurrhypini Moths of Europe Moths of Asia {{Odontiinae-stub