''Ethmia pyrausta'' 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
Depressariidae
Depressariidae is a family of moths. It has formerly been treated as a subfamily of Gelechiidae, but is now recognised as a separate family, comprising about 2,300 species worldwide.Heikkilä, M. ''et al''. 2014: Morphology reinforces proposed mo ...
. It is found in 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, ...
and adjacent
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 ...
, as well as in China and Mongolia.
The species is sometimes referred to as being "mythical", because it is so rarely encountered outside its remote native range. It is scarce resident in the UK and also found occasionally in other areas in
Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...
.
Description and ecology
It has black wings and a "hairy" orange body with a wingspan of .
Larva live in a thin silky spin between the leaves and flowers of ''
'', ''
Thalictrum simplex'' and ''
Thalictrum flavum
''Thalictrum flavum'', known by the common names common meadow-rue, poor man's rhubarb, and yellow meadow-rue,Peder Skou is a flowering plant species in the family Ranunculaceae. It is a native to Caucasus and Russia (Siberia). Growing to tall ...
''. There is evidence of breeding in the UK, with larvae found in Easter Ross in 2014.
Sightings in the UK
They were first recorded in the
Shin Valley in 1853. Two were found in 1996 on the top of
Glas Maol
Glas Maol ( gd, A' Ghlas-Mheall) is a mountain in the Mounth, in the southeastern part of the Highlands of Scotland. The broad, flat summit is divided between the council area of Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perth and Kinross, though the highest ...
in the
Grampians
The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. T ...
with a further two found nearby.
In June 2008 an adult Ethmia pyrausta moth was discovered in
Easter Ross
Easter Ross ( gd, Ros an Ear) is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.
The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituenc ...
, by Andy Scott and
Margaret Currie after finding it trapped in a spider web.
It has since been found in numbers in Easter Ross, with 15 sightings in early 2015.
Gallery
File:Ethmia_pyrausta_mounted.jpg, Mounted Adults
File:Ethmia pyrausta larva.jpg, Larva
References
pyrausta {{For, the grass moth genus, Pyrausta (moth)
Pyrausta or pyrallis (πυραλλίς) (also called in Greek pyrigonos) is a mythological insect from Cyprus. It is a four-legged insect with filmy wings. It lived in the fire like a salamander and died ...
Moths of Europe
Moths described in 1771
Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas
{{Ethmiinae-stub