''Cerastis rubricosa'', the red chestnut, 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

Noctuidae 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 ...

. The species was first described by

Michael Denis Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis, also: ''Sined the Bard'', (27 September 1729 – 29 September 1800) was an Austrian Catholic priest and Jesuit, who is best known as a poet, bibliographer, and lepidopterist. Life Denis was born at Schärding ...

and

Ignaz Schiffermüller Ignaz Schiffermüller (born 2 October 1727 in Hellmonsödt; died 21 June 1806 in Linz) was an Austrian naturalist mainly interested in Lepidoptera. Schiffermüller was a teacher at the Theresianum College in Vienna. His collection was presented ...

in 1775. It is found in most of Europe, east through the temperate regions of the

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 ...

east to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. In the north it is found just north of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

. Southward it is found up to the

Mediterranean Basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

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 32–38 mm, the forewings are red brown, varied with grey, sometimes with a purplish-brown tinge; stigmata grey with fine dark outlines; a broad angled median shade; lines all starting from black costal spots; hindwing fuscous grey; fringe grey. Generally distributed in Europe, except Spain, and found in western Siberia and western Turkestan. The form ''rufa'' Haw., the usual British form, is almost wholly rufous, and the fringe pink. - ''mucida'' Esp. is dark purplish red with the costa and subterminal shade slaty grey; - ''pilicornis'' Brahm has the red ground almost obliterated by grey suffusion, the crosslines brownish; of this ''pallida'' Tutt is merely an extreme pale form; finally, ''mista'' Hbn. is brick red with costa, crosslines, and outer margin grey.

Biology

Adults are on wing from March to May depending on the location. Larva reddish brown, with dark bands on dorsal segments; dorsal line slightly paler: subdorsal pale yellow, narrow; spiracular line brownish, yellow in front. The larvae feed on the leaves of various plants, including ''

Luzula ''Luzula'' is a genus of flowering plants in the rush family Juncaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species occurring throughout the world, especially in temperate regions, the Arctic, and higher elevation areas in the tropic ...

'', ''

Gymnadenia conopsea ''Gymnadenia conopsea'', commonly known as the fragrant orchid or chalk fragrant orchid, is a herbaceous plant of the family Orchidaceae native to northern Europe. Etymology The name of the genus ''Gymnadenia'' is formed from Greek words (', ...

'', ''

Lotus corniculatus ''Lotus corniculatus'' is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae, native to grasslands in temperate Eurasia and North Africa. Common names include common bird's-foot trefoil, eggs and bacon, birdsfoot deervetch, and just bird's-foot trefoi ...

'', ''

Veronica chamaedrys ''Veronica chamaedrys'', the germander speedwell, bird's-eye speedwell, or cat's eyes, is a herbaceous perennial species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. Description ''Veronica chamaedrys'' can grow to tall, but is fre ...

'', '' Rhinanthus alectorolophus'' and ''

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

'' species. Cerastis rubricosa1.jpg, Cerastis rubricosa caterpillar (dorsal view) - Keila.jpg, Caterpillar Cerastis rubricosa-l.jpg, Younger caterpillar

References

External links

* * Taxonomy
''Lepiforum e. V.''''Schmetterlinge-Deutschlands.de''
Noctuinae Moths described in 1775 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller {{Noctuinae-stub