''Wiltshirocossus aries'' is a species of
moth of the family
Cossidae. It is found in southern
Spain, on the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
, as well as in
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
,
Israel,
Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain, the
United Arab Emirates,
Yemen,
Oman,
Algeria,
Tunisia and
Egypt. The habitat consists of deserts and semidesert areas.
The
wingspan is about 39 mm. The ground colour of the forewings is white, with brownish suffusion. The hindwings are shining greyish black.
lepiforum.de
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Adults are on wing from February to April in North Africa and from April to May in Spain.
The larvae feed on ''Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
'' species.
Subspecies
*''Wiltshirocossus aries aries''
*''Wiltshirocossus aries aegyptiaca'' (Hampson, 1910) (Egypt)
*''Wiltshirocossus aries cheesmani'' (Tams, 1925) (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain)
References
Moths described in 1902
Cossinae
Moths of Europe
Moths of Asia
Moths of Africa
{{Cossinae-stub