''Jordanita graeca'' 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 Zygaenidae. It is found from southern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

through

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

to southern

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 ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

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 ...

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

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 northern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. The length of the forewings is 7.5–12.5 mm for males and 7–12 mm for females. Adults are on wing from May to July. The larvae of subspecies ''graeca'' feed on ''

Centaurea melitensis ''Centaurea melitensis'' (called Maltese star-thistle in Europe, tocalote or tocolote in western North America) is an annual plant in the family Asteraceae, high, with resin-dotted leaves and spine-tipped phyllaries. This plant is native to the ...

'' and '' Cirsium creticum'', while the larvae of subspecies ''sultana'' feed on '' Centaurea solstitialis'', '' Centaurea salonitana'', '' Carduus arabicus'', ''

Carduus uncinatus ''Carduus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, and the tribe Cardueae, one of two genera considered to be true thistles, the other being '' Cirsium''. Plants of the genus are known commonly as plumeless thistles.

'', '' Jurinea sordida'' and ''

Xeranthemum annuum ''Xeranthemum annuum'' is a flowering plant species also known as annual everlasting or immortelle. It is native to eastern Europe and western Asia, is cultivated as a garden flower. It has become naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisatio ...

''. Pupation takes place in a cocoon in the soil beneath the host plant.

Subspecies

*''Jordanita graeca graeca'' (from Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine to south-western Turkey) *''Jordanita graeca sultana'' (Alberti, 1937) (the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

, central and southern Turkey and Armenia)

References

*C. M. Naumann, W. G. Tremewan: ''The Western Palaearctic Zygaenidae''. Apollo Books, Stenstrup 1999,

External links

Fauna Europaea
Procridinae Moths described in 1907 Moths of Europe Moths of Asia {{Zygaenidae-stub