The Purple Marbled is a species of moth

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 mainly found in central and southern 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...

, but is also a scarce migrant in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, where it is mainly found along the south coast.

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 18-25 mm.

The larvae feed on the flowers and seeds of Carlina vulgaris

Carlina vulgaris

Carline Thistle is a species of the genus Carlina....

. Other recorded foodplants include Carlina

Carlina

Carlina is a genus of about 30 species of thistles in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe, north Africa and Asia. The highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region, and only one species Carlina (carline thistle) is a genus of about 30 species of thistles in the family Asteraceae,...

species in general, as well as Echinops

Echinops

Echinops is a genus of about 120 species of thistles in the daisy family Asteraceae, commonly known as globe thistles. They are native to Europe east to central Asia and south to the mountains of tropical Africa.Species include:...

, Carduus

Carduus

Carduus is a genus of about 90 species of thistles in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe, Asia and Africa. Carduus is Latin for a thistle....

and Cirsium

Cirsium

Cirsium is a genus of perennial and biennial flowering plants in the Asteraceae, one of several genera known commonly as thistles. They are more accurately known as Plume thistles. These differ from other thistle genera in having feathered hairs to their achenes...

species.