The gold spangle (''Autographa bractea'') is a moth 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 and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found in Europe, across western Siberia and the

Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The m ...

, the northern Caucasus, northern Turkey and northern Iran. left P. bractea F. ( = securis Vill.) Forewing purplish fuscous with many fine dark strigulae; the lines finely dark but indistinct, inwardly oblique; the inner line below middle finely golden, the outer golden at inner margin only; median area below middle ferruginous brown, containing at base of vein 2 a large irregular somewhat sinuous shining golden blotch (the golden blotch varies from a subquadrate, somewhat anvil-shaped mark to an elongate, sinuous, tongue-shaped one); a deeper diffuse shade from apex to middle; hindwing dull bronzy yellowish tinged with fuscous; the terminal area diffusely deep fuscous. Larva pale green; dorsal and spiracular lines white; head pale green marked with brown. Its wingspan is 42–50 mm.

Biology

The moth flies from July to August depending on the location, and migrates long distances. The larvae feed on a wide range of plants including '' Hieracium'', '' Tussilago farfara'', '' Plantago'', ''

Crepis paludosa ''Crepis paludosa'', the marsh hawk's-beard, is a European species of flowering plant in the tribe Cichorieae of the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across much of Europe with isolated populations in Iceland, the Ural Mountains, and the Cauca ...

'', '' Taraxacum'', '' Urtica'', '' Lamium'', '' Stachys'' and ''

Eupatorium cannabinum ''Eupatorium cannabinum'', commonly known as hemp-agrimony, or holy rope, is a herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a robust Perennial plant, perennial native to many areas of Europe. The alkaloids may be present in the plant material ...

''.

References

External links

Gold Spangle at ''UKMoths''''Fauna Europaea''
*
www.lepiforum.de ''Lepiforum e.V.''''Schmetterlinge-Deutschlands.de''
Plusiini Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Moths described in 1775 Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller {{Plusiinae-stub