The lychnis (''Hadena bicruris'') 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 northern and western Europe and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It has an Atlantic-Mediterranean distribution. In the East

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 ...

it is replaced by '' Hadena capsincola''.

Description

This species has dark brown forewings marked with two prominent white-bordered

stigmata Stigmata (, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion Five Holy Wounds, wounds of Jesus in Christian ...

and a white subterminal line. The hindwings are buffish, darkening to brown towards the margin but with a prominent white fringe. Seitz states - Distinguished from '' rivularis'' F. by the absence of the violet sheen; the markings white instead of yellow; the upper stigmata not conjoined; a conspicuous black blotch above inner margin near base; hindwing fuscous. Larva dull brown, with darker dorsal line and oblique subdorsal streaks.

Similar species

*'' Hadena capsincola'' has only been listed as an independent species since 1996 after a reworking of the genus ''Hadena'' by Hacker. While ''H. bicruris'' is mainly native to Western Europe, ''H. capsincola'' is found in eastern regions. It is usually a little darker in colour. However, only a genital morphological examination will distinguish them reliably. *'' Hadena perplexa'' is mainly distinguished by the absence of the blackish spot on the inner edge of the forewings below the ring blemishes. On the other hand, black arrow spots are visible on the wavy line. The moths are usually smaller than those of ''H. bicruris''.

Biology

One or two broods are produced each year and adults can be seen between May and September. Flight is from June to July. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

feeds on various

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranth ...

such as ''

Dianthus ''Dianthus'' ( ) is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Am ...

'', '' Lychnis'', '' Saponaria'' and ''

Silene ''Silene'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Containing nearly 900 species, it is the largest genus in the family. Common names include campion and catchfly. Many ''Silene'' species are widely distributed, particularl ...

''. The species overwinters as a

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

Pollination

''H. bicruis'' is a nocturnal pollinator meaning that it frequents flowers late in the day or at night. Flowers pollinated by moths are often pale in colour, allowing for moonlight to be reflected for easy detection by pollinators. ''H. bicruris'' has a specialised nursery pollination system with ''

Silene latifolia ''Silene latifolia'', commonly known as white campion, is a dioecious flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to most of Europe, Western Asia and northern Africa. It is a herbaceous annual, occasionally biennial or a short-lived ...

''. Nursery pollination systems are those where female pollinators lay their eggs on flowers, and as offspring develop, they consume either the plant or the developing

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...

s or seeds. In this type of pollination system the host plant and pollinator, in this case the moth, are dependent on each other. This relationship can also be considered

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The ent ...

as offspring consume seeds, which impacts seed dispersal. It is important to note that this system is not as strong as other nursery pollination systems, and that co-pollinators can alter the interaction between ''H. bicruris'' and ''S. latifolia.'' ''H. bicruris'' lack the specialised

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...

structures that many other pollinators have. Instead, pollen granules catch on their bodies and legs when they come into contact with a flower to feed on nectar. This is otherwise known as passive pollination, where organisms have no specialised collecting or depositing behaviour or structures, but still contribute to pollination. When the moth then visits the next flower, pollen granules may be transferred from the body to the stigma of the receiving plant. Despite the lack of specialised pollination structures, ''H. bicruris'' are considered to be the most efficient pollinator of ''S. latifolia'', where both sexes contribute equally to pollination. Although there is a cost to plants by seed predation, this will potentially occur following visitation by a female. Compared to when a male visits the plant, he will only consume the nectar and not have any impact to any part of the plants structure. ''H. bicruris'' visit both male and female ''S. latifolia'' flowers, and show no preference for flower sex. The efficiency of a pollinator is determined by the number of fruit that are produced following a pollination event. Studies have found in ''S. latifolia'' that 80% of visits by ''H. bicruris'' resulted in fruit production, with 45% of ovules being fertilised after a singular pollination visit.

References

External links