''Lemonia balcanica'' 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

Brahmaeidae Brahmaeidae is a family of insects in the order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, ...

(older classifications placed it in Lemoniidae). It is found in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. 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 . The moth flies from September to October depending on the location. The larvae feed on ''

Taraxacum ''Taraxacum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribu ...

'', ''

Leontodon ''Leontodon'' is a genus of plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae, commonly known as hawkbits. Their English name derives from the mediaeval belief that hawks ate the plant to improve their eyesight. Although originally on ...

'' and ''

Hieracium ''Hieracium'' (), known by the common name hawkweed and classically as (from ancient Greek ἱέραξ, 'hawk'), is a genus of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and closely related to dandelion (''Taraxacum''), chicory (''Cichorium''), ...

'' species.

Subspecies

*''Lemonia balcanica anatolica'' Wagner, 1931 *''Lemonia balcanica balcanica'' *''Lemonia balcanica bremeri'' (Koleanti, 1846) *''Lemonia balcanica cis'' Zolotuhin, 1994 *''Lemonia balcanica vashlovani'' Didmanidze, 1980

Sources

* P.C.-Rougeot, P. Viette (1978). ''Guide des papillons nocturnes d'Europe et d'Afrique du Nord''. Delachaux et Niestlé (Lausanne).

References

External links

''Lemonia balcanica'' up insecta.proLepiforum.de
Brahmaeidae Moths described in 1843 Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Taxa named by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer {{Bombycoidea-stub