The Viper's Bugloss ''(Hadena irregularis)'' 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

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

. It is found in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. 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 32–36 mm. Meyrick describes it - Forewings whitish-ochreous, irregularly suffused with pale ochreous brownish ; first and second lines edged externally with ochreous brownish, internally with dark brown ; median line ochreous brown ; orbicular and reniform outlined with pale ; subterminal line pale, edged anteriorly with ochreous-brown ; termen unmarked; cilia barred. Hindwings light fuscous, with darker postmedian line and subterminal band. Meyrick, E., 1895 ''A Handbook of British Lepidoptera'' MacMillan, Londo
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In the larvae, yellow-grey coloured specimens predominate. They have brownish lateral and dorsal lines and darker angled spots which open to the front on the dorsum. The reddish-brown pupa has two short, curved tips on the cremaster. The moth flies from July to August depending on the location. The larvae feed on ''

Silene otites ''Silene otites'', called Spanish catchfly, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Silene'', native to Europe and the Transcaucasus area, and introduced to Xinjiang in China. It varies its floral odors to attract mosquitoes and moths at n ...

'' (in the seed-capsules) and ''

Gypsophila ''Gypsophila'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the carnation family, Caryophyllaceae. They are native to Eurasia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.Silene otites ''Silene otites'', called Spanish catchfly, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Silene'', native to Europe and the Transcaucasus area, and introduced to Xinjiang in China. It varies its floral odors to attract mosquitoes and moths at n ...

'').

References

External links

Viper's Bugloss at UKmoths

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 at JNCC
Hadena Moths described in 1766 Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel {{Hadenini-stub