''Agonopterix heracliana'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family Depressariidae. It is found in most of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

, and the eastern part of the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

. It was first described in 1758 by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in the

10th edition of Systema Naturae The 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' is a book written by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus and published in two volumes in 1758 and 1759, which marks the starting point of zoological nomenclature. In it, Linnaeus introduced binomial nomencla ...

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 17–25 mm. The terminal joint of palpi with two blackish bands. Forewings light greyish ochreous suffused with pale brownish; some dark fuscous dashes, most distinct before fascia; more conspicuous cloudy dashes in place of stigmata, second discal stigma sometimes including a whitish dot; a distinct pale acutely angulated fascia at 3/4; terminal blackish dots. Hindwings whitish fuscous. The larva is grey, on sides dull yellow; spots black; head and plate of 2 black Adults are on wing from September to April. The larvae spin the leaves of a variety of umbelliferous plants, including '' Heracleum sphondylium'', ''

Anthriscus sylvestris ''Anthriscus sylvestris'', known as cow parsley, wild chervil, wild beaked parsley, Queen Anne's lace or keck, is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant in the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), genus ''Anthriscus''. It is also some ...

'', ''

Chaerophyllum temulum ''Chaerophyllum temulum'', the rough chervil, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. Unlike several other species in the genus, ''Chaerophyllum temulum'' is poisonous.Starý, František, Poisonous Plants (Hamlyn colour guides) ...

'', and most other

Umbelliferae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...

including ''

Angelica sylvestris ''Angelica sylvestris'' or wild angelica is a species of flowering plant, native to Europe and central Asia. An annual or short-lived perennial growing to a maximum of , it has erect purplish stems and rounded umbels of minuscule white or pale p ...

'', '' Aegopodium podagraria'', '' Conopodium majus'', ''

Daucus ''Daucus'' is a worldwide genus of herbaceous plants of the celery family Apiaceae of which the best-known species is the cultivated carrot. ''Daucus'' has about 25 species. The oldest carrot fossil is 1.3 Ma, and was found on the island of Made ...

'', '' Meum'', '' Myrrhis'', '' Oenanthe'', ''

Pastinaca ''Pastinaca'' (parsnips) is a genus of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, comprising 14 species. Economically, the most important member of the genus is ''Pastinaca sativa'', the parsnip. Etymology The etymology of the generic name ''Pastin ...

'', ''

Silaum ''Silaum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the carrot/parsley family, Apiaceae. There are currently ten species placed into the genus, a list of which is provided below. Description Plants in the genus ''Silaum'' have umbels which are characte ...

'', '' Sison'', ''

Smyrnium ''Smyrnium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. Range in country of S. Europe to Asia. Occasionally naturalised in Britain. Species include:

'', ''

Torilis ''Torilis'' is a genus of plants in the family Apiaceae which are known generally as the hedge parsleys. They are native to Eurasia and North Africa but have been introduced to other continents. ''T. arvensis'' is quite widespread in North Americ ...

'' and ''

Ligusticum ''Ligusticum'' (lovage, licorice root) is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, native to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Its name is believed to derive from the Italian region of Liguria.Huxl ...

''. Image:A heracliana in copula.JPG, left, Mating Image:Agonopterix heracliana a leaf tip of Anthriscus sylvestris folded by larva.JPG, center, A leaf tip of ''

'' folded by larva Image:32.018 BF688 Agonopterix heracliana pre pupation larva (5932647161).jpg, Pre-pupation larva Agonopterix heracliana-o.jpg

References

External links

Lepiforum.de
Agonopterix Moths described in 1758 Moths of Africa Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Agonopterix-stub