Ethmia pyrausta

Ethmia pyrausta is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in northern Scandinavia and adjacent Russia, as well as in China and Mongolia.[1] The species is sometimes referred to as being "mythical", because it is so rarely encountered outside its remote native range. It is a rare migrant to the UK[2] and also found occasionally in other areas in Northern Europe.[1]

"Tinea nigrella" redirects here. As invalidly described by Hübner in or around 1805, this refers to Elachista freyerella.

Ethmia pyrausta
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Depressariidae
Genus: Ethmia
Species:
E. pyrausta
Binomial name
Ethmia pyrausta
(Pallas, 1771)
Synonyms

Crambus niger (lapsus)
Chalybe pyraustella (lapsus)
Ethmia atropunctella (Thunberg, 1788)
Ethmia nigrella (Fabricius, 1775)
Phalaena pyrausta Pallas, 1771
Tinea atropunctella Thunberg, 1788
Tinea nigrella Fabricius, 1775

Description and ecology

It has black wings and a "hairy" orange body with a wingspan of 17–23 mm (0.67–0.91 in).

Larva live in a thin silky spin between the leaves and flowers of Thalictrum aquilegiifolium, Thalictrum simplex and Thalictrum flavum. There is evidence of breeding in the UK, with larvae found in Easter Ross in 2014.[3]

Sightings in the UK

They were first recorded in the Shin Valley in 1853. Two were found in 1996 on the top of Glas Maol in the Grampians with a further two found nearby.

In June 2008 an adult Ethmia pyrausta moth was discovered in Easter Ross, by Andy Scott and Margaret Currie after finding it trapped in a spider web.[4]

  • Mounted Adults
  • Larva
gollark: ☭_irl
gollark: Well, you didn't say that before.
gollark: ... "they" again?
gollark: Yes, that is the likely result of assigning people to different locations based on gender.
gollark: If they can add separate playgrounds somehow, it would also be possible to increase the size of existing playgrounds, or add extra non-gender-specific ones.

References
  1. Nupponen, K. (March 2015). "Interesting records of Ethmiinae from the former USSR, with description of Ethmia ustyurtensis Nupponen, sp. n. from Kazakhstan (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea, Elachistidae)". SHILAP Revta lepid. 43 (169): 128. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  2. "Hants Moths – 0722 Ethmia pyrausta". Archived from the original on 2008-06-05. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  3. Ethmia pyrausta (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Ethmiidae)
  4. BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Highlands and Islands | 'Mythical' moth rescued from web


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.