''Cataclysta lemnata'', the small china-mark, 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 ...

species of the family

Crambidae The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies includ ...

. It is found in Europe (including

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. Adults of the species are

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

. 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 18–19 mm for males and 22–24 mm for females. The forewings are white. The costa, discal spot and a series of terminal spots are all fuscous. The hindwings are white with scatted pale fuscous scales. Meyrick describes it- The forewings in male are whitish, with a yellowish-fuscous discal dot, traces of lines, and a pale brownish terminal streak ; in female pale brownish, ochreous-mixed,with a darker discal spot, lines very indistinct, whitish, darker-edged, a whitish siibterminal streak. Hindwings are white; a dark fuscous discal dot ; lines outlined with fuscous, sometimes nearly obsolete, first preceded by a yellow or fuscous spot in disc ; subterminal and terminal ochreous lines enclosing a black fascia marked with four bluish-silvery dots.The larva is dark green or blackish ; dorsal line black ; head pale brown.Meyrick, E., 1895 ''A Handbook of British Lepidoptera'' MacMillan, Londo
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Keys and description The moth flies from May to August depending on the location. Larvae are

semiaquatic In biology, semiaquatic can refer to various types of animals that spend part of their time in water, or plants that naturally grow partially submerged in water. Examples are given below. Semiaquatic animals Semiaquatic animals include: * Verte ...

. ''C. lemnata'' larvae have been recorded feeding on

duckweed Lemnoideae is a subfamily of flowering aquatic plants, known as duckweeds, water lentils, or water lenses. They float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands. Also known as bayroot, they arose ...

species (including ''

Lemna ''Lemna'' is a genus of free-floating aquatic plants referred to by the common name "Lemnoideae, duckweed". They are morphologically divergent members of the arum family Araceae. These rapidly growing plants have found uses as a Model organism, m ...

'' species and ''

Spirodela polyrhiza ''Spirodela polyrhiza'' ( ''S. polyrrhiza'') is a species of duckweed known by the common names common duckmeat, greater duckweed, great duckmeat, common duckweed, and duckmeat. It can be found nearly worldwide in many types of freshwater habitat ...

''), as well as

water fern Water fern is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * Salviniales, an order of aquatic ferns * '' Austroblechnum lanceolatum'', syn. ''Blechnum chambersii'', lance water fern * '' Austroblechnum patersonii'', syn. ''Blechnum patersonii' ...

s of the genus ''

Azolla ''Azolla'' (mosquito fern, duckweed fern, fairy moss, water fern) is a genus of seven species of aquatic ferns in the family Salviniaceae. They are extremely reduced in form and specialized, looking nothing like other typical ferns but more rese ...

''. The species is known to pupate in cocoons or shelters built from plant material.

References

External links

''Waarneming.nl''

Acentropinae Moths described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Moths of Europe Moths of Asia {{Acentropinae-stub