''Eurrhypis pollinalis'' is a species of

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

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

. 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 Schärdin ...

and

Ignaz Schiffermüller Jeremias "Johann" Ignaz Schiffermüller (; 2 November 1727 – 21 June 1806) was an Austrian naturalist and Jesuit teacher who took a special interest in the Lepidoptera. In order to describe the colours of butterflies, he also looked for a syste ...

in 1775.

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 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 Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

), such as broom (''

Genista ''Genista'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, native to open habitats such as moorland and pasture in Europe and western Asia. They include species commonly called broom, though the term may also refer to other gener ...

''), liquorice (''

Glycyrrhiza ''Glycyrrhiza'' is a genus of about 20 accepted species in the legume family (Fabaceae), with a subcosmopolitan distribution in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas. The genus is best known for liquorice (British English; licorice in Amer ...

''), ''

Laburnum anagyroides ''Laburnum anagyroides'' ( syn. ''Cytisus laburnum''), the common laburnum, golden chain or golden rain, is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Faboideae, and genus ''Laburnum''. '' Laburnum alpinum'' is closely related. It is native ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and '' Ononis repens''.

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