The ingrailed clay (''Diarsia mendica'') 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 species was first described by

Johan Christian Fabricius Johan Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, and is co ...

in 1775. It is distributed through most of Europe and the Palearctic. This species occurs in a huge range of colours and is one of the most variable species in the family. Its forewings range in colour from very pale straw to very dark brown, with the pale forms predominant in the south of the range and the darker forms prevalent further north.

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 o ...

is 28–36 mm. "Forewing with basal area grey, outer area red-brown; the lines and stigmata grey; hindwing dull grey with a dark lunule and transverse line and the fringe reddish; as a rule the male is paler than the female; a very variable species alike in colour and plainness of markings; ab. ''congener'' Hbn. is wholly red-brown with the stigmata yellowish; -ab. ''subrufa'' Haw. is distinguished by having the cell dark at base and between the stigmata; — ab. ''conflua'' H.-S. nec Tr. has the ground colour reddish ochreous mottled with darker; — ab. ''mendica'' F. is like the last but shows black or dark brown spaces in the cell; — ab. ''ignicola'' H.-Sch. has the ground colour yellowish ochreous, with the markings distinct; — ''primulae'' Esp. is the same form but with the cell filled in with blackish; — ab. ''ochrea-virgata'' Tutt is a banded form, the whole space between the median and subterminal line being darker; — ab. ''grisea'' Tutt is a small dark grey form, the stigmata clear; — ab. ''coerulea'' Tutt is of a clear slaty or lilac colour with pale stigmata; — lastly, ab. ''lamentanda'' Alph. is a pale uniformly ochreous form from Siberia and Kamschatka. subsp. ''conflua'' Tr. (= ''thulei'' Stgr.)is smaller, with narrower, more pointed forewing, reddish brown varied with yellowish; the stigmata large with dark marks in cell; described originally from Iceland and occurring in Shetland and Lapland; — ab. ''borealis'' Zett. is a grey brown form without any red but with the cell blackish; ''obsoleta'' Tutt resembles ''borealis'', but the cell is unicolorous and the markings obscure; - ab. ''diducta'' Zett. has the forewing grey with a broad rusty-testaceous fascia, and the markings obscured. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

is brown with black triangular markings along the side. It feeds on a wide range of plants (see list below). The species overwinters as a larva. Colombario costantiniano - Caffarella

Biology

This moth flies at night from June to August and is attracted to light.

Recorded food plants

*''

Calluna ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found ...

'' – heather *''Campanula'' –

harebell ''Campanula rotundifolia'', the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemi ...

*'' Crataegus'' –

hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

*''Lactuca'' –

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...

Pinaceae The Pinaceae, or pine family, are conifer trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as cedars, firs, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces. The family is included in the order Pinales, formerly kn ...

*''Rubus'' –

bramble A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus ''Rubus'', which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. "Bramble" is also used to describe other prickly shrubs, such as roses (''Rosa'' species). The fruits inclu ...

*'' Rumex'' – dock *''Salix'' –

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

*''

Vaccinium ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whort ...

'' See Robinson, G. S. et al.

Subspecies

* ''D. m. borealis'' -

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

, northern and central

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

* ''D. m. mendica'' - central and northern Europe, except in northernmost Fennoscandia * ''D. m. orkneyensis'' - Orkney * ''D. m. thulei'' - Shetland * ''D. m. lamentunda''-

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and west ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, China and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

* ''D. m. monochroma'' -

Alborz The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs nort ...

and other ragions of

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 ...

* undescribed subspecies in the north of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

and other regions of

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

Similar species

''Diarsia mendica'' ssp. ''mendica'' (Fabricius, 1775) is difficult to certainly distinguish from its congeners. See Townsend et al.Martin C. Townsend, Jon Clifton and Brian Goodey (2010)
''British and Irish Moths: An Illustrated Guide to Selected Difficult Species''
(covering the use of genitalia characters and other features) Butterfly Conservation. *'' Protolampra sobrina'' (Duponchel, 1843) *''

Diarsia mendica The ingrailed clay (''Diarsia mendica'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It is distributed through most of Europe and the Palearctic. This species occurs in a huge range ...

'' ssp. ''thulei'' (Staudinger, 1891) *''

'' ssp. ''orkneyensis'' (Bytinski-Salz, 1930) *'' Diarsia rubi'' (Vieweg, 1790) *'' Diarsia florida'' (Schmidt, 1859)

Notes

#''The flight season refers to 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, ...

. This may vary in other parts of the range.''

References

Chinery, Michael Michael Chinery (born 1938, in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-e ...

(1986, reprinted 1991). ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe''. * Skinner, Bernard (1984). '' The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles''.

External links

* * Taxonomy
''Lepiforum e.V.''
{{Taxonbar , from=Q1141398 Diarsia Moths described in 1775 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of Iceland Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius