Mint moth
| Pyrausta aurata | |
|---|---|
_first_brood.jpg) | |
| fresh, first brood | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Crambidae |
| Genus: | Pyrausta |
| Species: | P. aurata |
| Binomial name | |
| Pyrausta aurata Scopoli, 1763 | |
| Synonyms | |
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The mint moth (Pyrausta aurata) is a small moth from the family Crambidae. In the UK, it has two broods; in May/June, and July/August. It flies both at day and at night.
The purplish-brown wings have a span from 10 to 15 millimetres, and a single golden yellow spot on each overwing and underwing. The moth is very similar to the related Pyrausta purpuralis, a slightly larger moth with a larger number of yellow spots.
As the name suggests, the mint moth often uses mint as a food plant, though it can also be found on other species such as marjoram. In north-west Europe it can be seen from April until the end of September and is capable of having two generations in each season.
Gallery
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fresh, first brood._worn_first_brood.jpg)
worn, first brood_second_brood.jpg)
fresh, second brood_worn_second_brood.jpg)
worn, second brood_on_shrubby_cinquefoil_(Dasiphora_fruticosa).webm.jpg)
video of Pyrausta aurata
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pyrausta aurata. |
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/5/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.