![Pleuroptya](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Pleuroptya.ruralis.7310.jpg)
''Patania ruralis'', the mother of pearl moth, is a species of
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
Crambidae
The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies includ ...
. It was
described by
Giovanni Antonio Scopoli
Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Johannes Antonius Scopolius) (3 June 1723 – 8 May 1788) was an Italian physician and natural history, naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first anational ...
in 1763. It is found in Europe.
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 . The forewings are pale whitish-ochreous, yellowish-tinged; a grey subcostal suffusion and connected orbicular dot; lines rather dark grey, first straight, second serrate, curved, strongly broken inwards beneath middle; a dark grey discal mark, nearly followed by a grey blotch; a grey terminal band, edge parallel to second line. Hindwings with colour, discal mark, and posterior markings as in forewings. The larva is whitish green, sides greener; dorsal line darker; head green.
The moth flies from June to September depending on the location.
The larvae feed on
stinging nettle
''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Or ...
and are notable for their
rolling locomotion. Scientists used the rolling behavior of the caterpillar as a model to create next-generation robots that roll.
References
External links
*
Mother of pearl at UKMothsLepiforum.de
Spilomelinae
Moths described in 1763
Moths of Europe
Moths of Japan
Moths of Asia
Rolling animals
Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli
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