''Calophasia lunula'' is a

Palearctic 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 ...

species of

noctuid moth The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

known by the common names toadflax moth and toadflax brocade moth.

Technical description and variation

''C. lunula'' Hufn. (= ''linariae'' Esp.) (29 b). Forewing bluish grey, suffused with olive fuscous, especially in median area and along an oblique fascia from apex to before anal angle; lines double, filled in with grey, but only distinct below middle, curved and approximating; claviform stigma elongate, bluish grey edged with black; orbicular small, flattened, white edged with black ; reniform conspicuous, white with black lateral edges; some black streaks in the intervals across the oblique apical fascia; fringe chequered, olive brown and grey;hindwing dingy grey with the veins and braces of outer line darker; a smoky blackish broad terminal border. Larva bluish grey, with all the lines yellow; a dorsal series of transverse oblong velvety black blotches, and lateral series of black spots. Warren. W. in Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 ''Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde'', Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914 12 millimeters long.

Distribution

''Calophasia lunula'' extends throughout Europe including

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

and

Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern regions of Europe, region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countrie ...

to Russia and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

and the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

. It is missing in Japan. It is an introduced species in parts of Canada and the United States. In the Alps it is found at altitudes up to 2000 meters. The species prefers warm slopes, heathlands and wastelands.

Biology

The female lays anywhere from 30 to 80 eggs on the leaves and flowers of toadflax plants. In one to two weeks the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

emerges from the egg and begins feeding. This

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

undergoes five molts during a one-month period. The first-stage larva is about 5 millimeters long and dark gray in color. The eyecatching older larvae are black and white spotted with bright yellow stripes. The mature larva is about 4 centimeters long. After this stage it

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

tes through the winter in a cocoon of chewed plant matter and leaf litter. Damage to the plants is done by the voracious feeding of the caterpillars. They consume all the new leaf and flower buds first and then move on to eat stems, leaves, and flowers, often to the point of complete defoliation of large numbers of toadflax plants. This does not necessarily kill the plants but it severely reduces their ability to produce seeds and propagate. Adults feed harmlessly on the plants'

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

and do not contribute to the damage. It is used as an agent of

biological pest control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...

against yellow toadflax (''Linaria vulgaris'') and Dalmatian toadflax (''Linaria genistifolia'' ssp. ''dalmatica'') in areas where they are considered

noxious weeds A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or liv ...

in North America. It was first introduced to Canada as a biocontrol agent in the early 1960s, and to the United States shortly thereafter. The moth is now established in many areas. It tends not to establish as easily in colder climates.

References

*Coombs, E. M., et al., Eds. (2004). ''Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the United States''. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 384.

External links

Toadflax Brocade on UKmothsFauna EuropaeaLepiforum.de
{{Taxonbar, from=Q690684 Cuculliinae Insects used for control of invasive plants Moths described in 1766 Moths of Europe Moths of North America Moths of Asia Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel