Ammoconia caecimacula
Encyclopedia
Ammoconia caecimacula is a moth
of the Noctuidae
family. It is found in most of Europe
, except southern Spain
, Great Britain
, Ireland
and northern Fennoscandia
. It is also present in Anatolia
, northern Asia and western Turkestan
. In the east the species is represented by subspecies transcaucasica and sibirica.
The wingspan
is 35-48 mm. Adults are on wing from August to October or November.
The larvae feed on various plants, including Cephalanthera damasonium
, Rumex
, Galium
, Scophularia, Genista
, Taraxacum
and Silene
. They prefer the flowers and fruit.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Noctuidae
Noctuidae
The Noctuidae or owlet moths are a family of robustly-built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera. They constitute the largest family in the Lepidoptera....
family. It is found in most of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, except southern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and northern Fennoscandia
Fennoscandia
Fennoscandia and Fenno-Scandinavia are geographic and geological terms used to describe the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula, Karelia and Finland...
. It is also present in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, northern Asia and western Turkestan
Turkestan
Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...
. In the east the species is represented by subspecies transcaucasica and sibirica.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 35-48 mm. Adults are on wing from August to October or November.
The larvae feed on various plants, including Cephalanthera damasonium
Cephalanthera damasonium
The White Helleborine is a species of orchid. It is the type species of the genus Cephalanthera....
, Rumex
Rumex
The docks and sorrels, genus Rumex L., are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae....
, Galium
Galium
Galium is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, with 617 known species occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Most species are known as bedstraw. G...
, Scophularia, Genista
Genista
Genista is a genus of legumes which includes many species of broom. Many of these brooms are notorious as noxious weeds.Species include:*Genista aetnensis - Mount Etna broom*Genista anglica - petty whin, needle furze*Genista canariensis...
, Taraxacum
Taraxacum
Taraxacum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are native to Eurasia and North America, and two species, T. officinale and T. erythrospermum, are found as weeds worldwide. Both species are edible in their entirety...
and Silene
Silene
Silene is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Common names include campion and catchfly....
. They prefer the flowers and fruit.
Subspecies
- Ammoconia caecimacula caecimacula
- Ammoconia caecimacula transcaucasica Ronkay & Varga, 1984
- Ammoconia caecimacula sibirica Staudinger, 1882