73.34 BF2106

Southern Rustic Rhyacia lucipeta

([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)

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Wingspan 56-64 mm.

This large species cannot be confused with any other European moth. It is resident in the mountains, including the Pyrenees, Auvergne and the Alps, and the one British specimen, from Pulborough, W. Sussex, in July 1968, was way off course.

It is on the wing from June to September, with a diapause in late summer (Fibiger, 1993), and comes readily to light.

The larva overwinters to May, and feeds on herbaceous plants. There is a short pupal period in early summer.

(Description: Barry Goater)