''Zygaena contaminei'' 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 ...

in the

Zygaenidae The Zygaenidae moths are a family of Lepidoptera. The majority of zygaenids are tropical, but they are nevertheless quite well represented in temperate regions. Some of the 1000 or so species are commonly known as burnet or forester moths, ofte ...

family. It is found in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Technical description and variation (Seitz)

This species, which is distributed from the Pyrenees to Andalusia, being more restricted to mountainous districts, corresponds in pattern to '' scabiosae'' '' orion'', i. e. the anterior streak is rather short, the central one is separated into a minute basal dot and a large drop-like spot, and the posterior one, though continuous, is strongly constricted in the middle. The very gradually and evenly incrassate, but very strongly clubbed antenna distinguishes this species at once from all forms of ''scabiosae'', with the exception of the small '' nevadensis'', which is, however, much larger, being almost twice the size. The larvae feed on ''

Eryngium bourgatii ''Eryngium bourgatii'', the Mediterranean sea holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Morocco, Lebanon, Turkey, France, and Spain. It is a herbaceous perennial growing to tall. The spherical blue flowerheads hav ...

''. Adults are on wing from the beginning of July to mid August. The species overwinters in the larval stage. Full-grown larvae can be found from the end of May to mid or end June.Schmetterlinge und ihre Ökologie
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Subspecies

*''Zygaena contaminei contaminei'' *''Zygaena contaminei almanzorica'' Reiss, 1936 *''Zygaena contaminei penalabrica'' Fernandez, 1929

References

Moths described in 1834 Zygaena Moths of Europe {{Zygaenidae-stub