''Rivula sericealis'', the straw dot, 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 ...

. The species was first described by

Giovanni Antonio Scopoli Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Johannes Antonius Scopolius) (3 June 1723 – 8 May 1788) was an Italians, Italian physician and natural history, naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first ...

in his 1763 ''

Entomologia Carniolica ' is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic work by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, published in Vienna in 1763. As well as describing hundreds of new species, ' contained observations on the species' biology, including the first published account of queen bee ...

''. It is found in Europe including the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

and southern

Fennoscandia __NOTOC__ Fennoscandia (Finnish language, Finnish, Swedish language, Swedish and ; ), or the Fennoscandian Peninsula, is a peninsula in Europe which includes the Scandinavian Peninsula, Scandinavian and Kola Peninsula, Kola peninsulas, mainland ...

and south to

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. In an easterly direction, the species occurs 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 ...

to the Pacific Ocean and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The species closely resembles '' Evergestis forficalis''.

Technical description and variation

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 18–22 mm. The length of the forewings is 13–15 mm. Forewing triangular, the apex rectangular, the termen curved; veins 7, 8, 9 stalked. Forewing straw yellow, becoming deeper terminally; with a black-brown reniform stigma containing two black dots; inner and outer lines brownish, obscure, the outer sinuous, excurved round the cell; hindwing luteous (mud coloured) with a yellow tinge, darker terminally.Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 ''Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde'', Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914

Biology

The moth flies from May to October depending on the location. Larva green; dorsal line darker; subdorsal white; head greenish ochreous. The larvae feed on various grasses, such as

false brome ''Brachypodium sylvaticum'', commonly known as false-brome, slender false brome or wood false brome, is a perennial grass native to Europe, Asia and Africa. Its native range includes most of Europe, northwestern Africa, Sudan and Eritrea, Wester ...

and

purple moor grass ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid s ...

. Habitats include moist grasslands, wasteland, sparse forests, alder forests and parklands. Rivula sericealis larva.jpg, Larva Buckler W The larvæ of the British butterflies and moths PlateCXLVIII.jpg , Illustration Figs. 4, 4a, 4b the same larva in various stages of growth 4c pupa 4d much magnified figure of 4 Rivula.sericealis.7194.jpg Rivula sericealis SLU.JPG, Museum specimen

References

External links

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"''Rivula sericealis'' (Scopoli, 1763)"
''Fauna Europaea''. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
"09008 ''Rivula sericealis'' (Scopoli, 1763) - Seideneulchen"
''Lepiforum e. V.'' Retrieved 15 February 2020. Rivulinae Moths described in 1763 Moths of Africa Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of Japan Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli {{Rivulinae-stub