Ashworth's rustic (''Xestia ashworthii'') is a species of moth. Its colouring is blue/grey and it is mainly

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

Life cycle

There is one generation in Britain from mid June to August. They are in their larval stage from August to late May of June the next year, feeding mainly by night, but sometimes basking by day in the spring. There are many larval foodplants, usually low growing plants, including

common rock-rose ''Helianthemum nummularium'' (known as common rock-rose) is a species of rock-rose (Cistaceae), native to most of Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical si ...

, wild thyme, sheep's sorrel, harebell, salad burnet, bell heather, goldenrod, lady's bedstraw,

creeping willow ''Salix repens'', the creeping willow, is a small, shrubby species of willow in the family Salicaceae, growing up to 1.5metres in height. Found amongst sand dunes and heathlands, it is a polymorphic species, with a wide range of variants. In ...

and foxglove. It pupates in a flimsy cocoon under moss, among rocks or just below ground.

Subspecies

*''Xestia ashworthii ashworthii'' has a wingspan of 35–40 mm (mountainous areas of Wales) *''Xestia ashworthii candelarum'' (Staudinger 1871) (central Europe from the Pyrenees to the Alps, east to Siberia and Tibet) *''Xestia ashworthii lactescens'' (Turati 1919) has a wingspan of 42–46 mm (central Italy) *''Xestia ashworthii jotunensis'' (Schoyen 1887) (Fennoscandia and the Baltic region)

References

External links

Biodiversity of Snowdonia National Park
Xestia Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Moths described in 1855 {{Xestia-stub