Evergestis frumentalis
Evergestis frumentalis
Evergestis frumentalis is a butterfly of the family Crambidae. The species is widespread in Europe and western Asia.
Features
The moths reach a wingspan from 29 to 35 millimeters. The ground color of the forewings is white, but densely dusted with a pattern of bright yellowish and brownish scales. The front transverse line in the base color is oblique and is heavily perforated. To the outer edge it is usually lined dark brown. The external cross- line is formed by a series of egg-shaped spots that are separated by the dark veining. The spots are to the outer edge first dark, but then again lined light, wherein the seam forms a somewhat irregular transverse line. White patches form a mostly broken wavy line. The fringes are alternately white and brown in color, although the white portions are usually somewhat narrower. The hind wings are whitish, dusted dark along the veins. In the outer quarter to a toothed, whitish line and from Tornus is starting an arrow line. The fringes are like patterned forewings. Viewed over the range of the species, the specimens from the West (France and Spain) are darker than the specimens from eastern Europe who are more yellowish.
Occurrence and habitat
The species is widespread in Europe from the Iberian Peninsula in the west, across Southern, Central and Eastern Europe, the southern Fennoscandia to Central Asia and southern Siberia ( Buryatia ). It also occurs in Asia Minor and the Caucasus region. You lack in the British Isles and the Netherlands. Evergestis frumentalis comes in open landscapes, grassy hills, on roadsides and ruderal relatively frequent.
Phenology and life
The moths fly in two generations in April and August. They can startle easily during the day and come out at night to light. The oligophagen caterpillars feed in loose cocoons on the underside of the leaves of wild mustard ( Sinapis arvensis), woad ( Isatis tinctoria ), Common Besenrauke ( Descourainia sophia ) and other cruciferous plants ( Brassicaceae). The caterpillars of the second generation overwinter in a cocoon in the soil and pupate until the following spring.
Taxonomy
The species was described in 1761 by Carolus Linnaeus first time under the name Phalaena Pyralis frumentalis scientifically. However, the species has also been described under other names that are junior synonyms of Evergestis frumentalis therefore: Phalaena Pyralis secalis Linnaeus, 1767, Pyralis triquetralis Denis & Schiffer Müller, 1775 Orobena implicalis Guenée, 1854 Botys frumentalis var australis Bienert, 1868 Orobena frumentalis asiaticalis Ragonot, 1894 and Evergestis frumentalis var espanalis damage Werda, 1926.
Currently, the species is divided into two subspecies, the Nominatunterart Evergestis frumentalis frumentalis in Western, Southern and Central Europe and Evergestis frumentalis asiaticalis Ragonot, 1894. The Nominatunterart is slightly darker than the eastern Evergestis frumentalis asiaticalis. This comes in Asia and eastern Europe to Romania.