''Paracolax tristalis'', the clay fan-foot, is a

litter moth The Herminiinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. The members of the subfamily are called litter moths because the caterpillars of most members feed on dead leaves of plants, though others feed on living leaves, and/or the mushro ...

of the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...

. 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 cons ...

in 1794. It is found in the

Palearctic realm 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 ...

. The ground colour is warm sandy brown and the forewing has entire subbasal and postmedian lines. 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 28–35 mm. The moth flies from June to August depending on the location. The larvae feed on various shrubs and deciduous trees.

External links

*
"''Paracolax tristalis'' (Fabricius, 1794)"
''Fauna Europaea''. Retrieved 28 January 2020.

''Lepidoptera of Belgium''. Archived 12 May 2017.
"08839 ''Paracolax tristalis'' (Fabricius, 1794) - Trübgelbe Spannereule"
''Lepiforum e.V.'' Retrieved 28 January 2020.
"Gele snuituil ''Paracolax tristalis''"
''De Vlinderstichting''. Retrieved 28 January 2020.

''British Lepidoptera''. Retrieved 28 January 2020. Herminiinae Moths of Japan Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius Moths described in 1794 {{Herminiinae-stub