''Collita griseola'', the dingy footman, 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

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...

. The species was first described by

Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796–1805), a founding work of entomology. Scientific career Hübner was the author of '' ...

in 1803. It is found in Europe and North and South-East Asia. 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 32–40 mm. The moth flies from May to August depending on the location. The larvae feed on

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

s and marshy areas, but has since spread northwards and now occupy a variety of habitats, including gardens.

Subspecies

* ''Collita griseola griseola'' * ''Collita griseola sachalinensis'' (Matsumura, 1930) (Russian Far East) * ''Collita griseola submontana'' (Inoue, 1982) (Japan)

References

External links

*
''Eilema griseola'' at ''Lepiforum e.V.''
Lithosiina Moths described in 1803 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of Japan Insects of Turkey Taxa named by Jacob Hübner {{Lithosiina-stub