Arctia testudinaria explained

Arctia testudinaria, or Patton's tiger, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Geoffroy in 1785. It is found from northern Spain to southern and central France and southern Switzerland to north-eastern and southern Italy. It has also been recorded from Great Britain.[1] The habitat consists of grasslands, slopes, forest edges, clear dry forests, cliffs and mountain slopes, maquis, garrigues and dry meadows.[2]

The wingspan is 35–45 mm.[3] Adults are on wing in May and July.

The larvae feed on various low-growing plants, including Plantago, Rumex, Achillea, Euphorbia cyparissias, Potentilla, Hieracium, Taraxacum, Cynoglossum, Deschampsia, Calamagrostis.[4] The species overwinters in the larval stage. Pupation often takes place under flat stones.

This species, along with the others of the genus Hyphoraia, was moved to Arctia as a result of phylogenetic research published by Rönkä et al. in 2016.

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=2058a Patton's tiger on UKMoths
  2. http://www.pyrgus.de/Hyphoraia_testudinaria_en.html Lepidoptera and Their Ecology
  3. http://www.hantsmoths.org.uk/species/2058a.php Hants Moths
  4. http://www.leps.it/indexjs.htm?SpeciesPages/HyphTest.htm Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa