''Udea olivalis'' 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 first 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 and is found in Europe.
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 24–28 mm. The forewings are greyish ochreous
or brownish, densely sprinkled with dark fuscous lines hardly darker, indistinct, second serrate, often posteriorly whitish -edged, preceded in middle by a white spot, curved, with abrupt deep sinuation inwards below middle; large orbicular and reniform discal spot darker, separated by a subquadrate white spot; posterior half of costa whitish, dotted with dark fuscous. Hindwings white, dorsal half light grey; two dark grey discal dots; a fuscous terminal fascia. The larva is light green; dorsal line dark green; spots large, black; head and plate of 2 black-freckled
[Meyrick, E., 1895 ''A Handbook of British Lepidoptera'' MacMillan, Londo]
pdf
Keys and description
The moth flies from May to August depending on the location.
The larvae feed on various herbaceous plants, such as ''
Hedera helix
''Hedera helix'', the common ivy, European ivy, King's Choice ivy, or just ivy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is native to most of Europe and parts of western Asia. Ivy is a clinging evergreen vine that grows on t ...
'', ''
Lychnis'', ''
Urtica
''Urtica'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Urticaceae. Many species have stinging hairs and may be called nettles or stinging nettles (the latter name applying particularly to ''Urtica dioica, U. dioica''). The generic name ''Urtica' ...
'', ''
Symphytum officinale
''Symphytum officinale'' is a perennial flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. Along with thirty four other species of ''Symphytum'', it is known as comfrey (from the Latin confervere to 'heal' or literally to 'boil together', referring to u ...
'' and
Lamiaceae
The Lamiaceae ( )
or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...
.
Further reading
*Mark Parsons, Sean Clancy, David Wilson ''A Guide to the Pyralid and Crambid Moths of Britain and Ireland'': Atropos, England.
References
External links
Lepiforum.deWaarneming.nl
''Udea olivalis'' at UKMoths
olivalis
Moths described in 1775
Moths of Europe
Moths of Asia
Taxa named by Michael Denis
Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller
{{Udea-stub