''Diloba caeruleocephala'', the figure of eight, 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 ...

. It is found in 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 ...

Distribution

''Diloba caeruleocephala'' is found in most of Europe except northern

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, the northern part of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

and the North of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. In the South, it occurs in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, the Middle East (

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

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 ...

and

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. It is largely missing in Portugal.

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 30–40 mm. The length of the forewings is 15–19 mm. The heavily combed antennae of the male and the thick, woolly-hairy body of the female is atypical for Noctuidae. The forewings are grey or grey-brown with a purple sheen. The reniform and orbicular stigmata are both in the shape of a figure 8 enclosed in yellowish white. The post median and subterminal lines are black. There is a black tornal streak. The hindwing is an ochreous white. The cilia are greyish brown with a wedge-shaped black tornal mark. The egg is hemispherical and initially white; later it becomes yellowish and is yellowish brown right before hatching. It has in the fresh state 13 to 16 wide, greenish longitudinal ribs. The larvae are relatively thick at all stages, relatively short and roundish in cross-section. The first instar is light to dark brown and has long bristles on the entire top of the body. The second instar is black with yellow dorsal lines. The head is cream with two black, dorsal stripes. The third instar is blue-grey with yellowish, subdorsal bands. The head is now grey-blue with two large black spots. The penultimate instar resembles the third . In the last instar, the caterpillar is greenish to bluish and has a series of yellow spots on the back and on the side, which are so close together in some specimens that they result arranged in three longitudinal stripes. Distributed all over the body are black warts with individual bristles. The head is blue with two black dots. The adult caterpillar is up to 40 millimeters long. The pupa is relatively short and thick. It is reddish brown with a slight shade of blue. At the rear end there are two lateral protrusions, on each of which four bristles sit. The moth flies in one generation from late August to mid-November in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

; and late September to mid-November in the UK.Waring, Paul, Martin Townsend and Richard Lewington (2003) ''Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland''. British Wildlife Publishing, Hook, UK. . The larvae feed on various deciduous trees and shrubs, mainly ''

Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depend ...

'', ''

Prunus spinosa ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...

'' and ''

Crataegus ''Crataegus'' (), commonly called hawthorn, quickthorn, thornapple, Voss, E. G. 1985. ''Michigan Flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part II: Dicots (Saururaceae–Cornacea ...

''. .

References

*Halil Bolu & İnanç Özgen:, 2007 Life History and Biology of Diloba caeruleocephala (Figure of Eight) (Lepidoptera; Noctuidae). ''Belgian Journal of Zoology'', 137(2): 133-136, Gent 2007 ISSN 0777-627
pdf

External links

Figure of Eight at UKmoths
Taxonomy
Fauna EuropaeaLepiforum.deVlindernet.nl
Noctuidae Moths described in 1758 Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Moths of the Middle East Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Noctuidae-stub