''Zygaena rubicundus'', common name fulvous burnet,. 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 family

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 ...

Etymology

The Latin species name “rubicundus” means "high fiery red".

Distribution and habitat

This species is endemic to the mainland of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. These moths prefer limestone grasslands, mountain slopes and open scrub with the host plant.Pyrgus.de
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Description

''Zygaena rubicundus'' can reach a

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 ...

of . Seitz, A. describes ''Zygaena rubicundus'' as follows:- All the wings red, also the hindmargin, only the apex and distal margin of forewing bearing a black edge, which is a little more than 1 mm wide. In Central and South Italy. Very local. This species is closely related to '' Zygaena contaminei''.

Biology

These rather small diurnal moths develop a complete metamorphosis which involves a pupal stage (

holometabolous Holometabolism, also called complete metamorphosis, is a form of insect development which includes four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and imago (or adult). Holometabolism is a synapomorphic trait of all insects in the superorder Endopterygot ...

). Adults are on the wing between June and August. They visit flowers of

Centranthus ''Centranthus'' is a flowering plant genus comprising herbs and subshrubs native to Southern Europe. It is in the family Caprifoliaceae. There are about twelve species in the genus. Some ''Centranthus'' are known as introduced species in other pa ...

(Valerians). The larvae feed mainly on ''

Eryngium campestre ''Eryngium campestre'', known as field eryngo, or Watling Street thistle, is a species of '' Eryngium'', which is used medicinally. A member of the family Apiaceae, eryngo is a hairless, thorny perennial plant. The leaves are tough and stiff, w ...

'' and ''

Eryngium amethystinum ''Eryngium amethystinum'', the amethyst eryngo, Italian eryngo or amethyst sea holly, is a clump-forming, perennial, tap-rooted herb. Its stem is 30 to 50 cm long and is light blue to purple in colour. It has a basal circle of obovate, pin ...

''.Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
/ref>Lepiforum.org
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Bibliography

*Hofmann, A.F. & W.G. Tremewan (2017): The Natural History of Burnet Moths (Zygaena Fabricius, 1775) (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae). Part 1. – 630 S.; Munich – Vilnius (Proceedings of the Museum Witt). *Erstbeschreibung: Hübner, J. 793-1832 Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge 2: pl. 1-38.

External links

Euroleps

Ibolli

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q8075774 Moths described in 1817 Zygaena Endemic fauna of Italy Moths of Europe