''Zygaena lonicerae'', the narrow-bordered five-spot burnet, is a

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

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, oft ...

. The species was first described by Theodor Gottlieb von Scheven in 1777.

Subspecies

*''Zygaena lonicerae lonicerae'' *''Zygaena lonicerae abbastumana'' Reiss, 1922 *''Zygaena lonicerae alpiumgigas'' Verity, 1925 *''Zygaena lonicerae insularis'' Tremewan, 1960 (Ireland) *''Zygaena lonicerae intermixta'' Verity, 1925 *''Zygaena lonicerae jocelynae'' Tremewan, 1962 (Isle of Skye) *''Zygaena lonicerae kalkanensis'' Reiss, 1932 *''Zygaena lonicerae latomarginata'' (Tutt, 1899) (England) *''Zygaena lonicerae leonensis'' Tremewan, 1961 *''Zygaena lonicerae linnei'' Reiss, 1922 *''Zygaena lonicerae microdoxa'' Dujardin, 1965 *''Zygaena lonicerae nobilis'' Navàs, 1924 *''Zygaena lonicerae silana'' Burgeff, 1914 *''Zygaena lonicerae thurneri'' Holik, 1943 *''Zygaena lonicerae vivax'' Verity, 1920

Distribution

This species can be found in most of Europe, from Ireland to Fennoscandia, up to west of China. In the southern Europe the species is widespread from northern and central

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 ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Habitat

In western Europe it prefers dry to mesophilic habitats in coastal areas, sea-cliffs, open forests, grassland, chalk downland and subalpine valleys, at an elevation up to above sea level.

Description

''Zygaena lonicerae'' have 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 o ...

of . The forewings reach a length of in the females, while they are slightly smaller in males. The forewings usually show five crimson to vermilion spots and a black basic colour, with a strong bluish or blue-green reflection. The third spot is smaller than the fourth one. Head, thorax and abdomen are black and moderately to strongly hairy. The antennae are long and slender and slightly clavate (club shaped) and tapered. The females are similar to males, but the top of the front wing is slightly rounded and the abdomen and the thorax are less hairy. However this species is very variable. Usually the moth populations in alpine areas are much larger, while those from southern Europe are darker. Narrow-bordered five-spot burnet moth (Zygaena lonicerae).jpg Zygaena lonicerae MHNT CUT 2011 0 437 Mont-Louis.jpg, Both sides Zygène des bois.jpg, Lateral with open wings

Life cycle

The moth flies during daytime from June to early August depending on the location. They suck nectar of the preferred blue violet flowers, such as on field scabious (''

Knautia arvensis ''Knautia arvensis'', commonly known as field scabious, is a herbaceous perennial species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Description It is a perennial plant that grows between . It prefers grassy places and dry ...

''), dove pincushion flower ('' Scabiosa columbaria''), meadow knapweed ('' Centaurea jacea''), panicle knapweed ('' Centaurea stoebe''), creeping thistle (''

Cirsium arvense ''Cirsium arvense'' is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere.Joint Nature Conservation Committee''Cirsium arvense'' The standa ...

''), bulbous thistle (''

Cirsium tuberosum ''Cirsium tuberosum'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Aster ...

'') and ring thistle ('' Carduus''). The females lay eggs in July on the underside of leaves of the host plants or on plants that grow close to them. The eggs are pale yellow. The caterpillars reach a length of 19 to 28 millimetres. They are bluish green or pale yellow, with long pale hairs and a few rows of almost rectangular black spots. The larvae feed on various low-growing plants, including ''

Trifolium Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

'' ('' Trifolium medium'', '' Trifolium montanum'', ''

Trifolium pratense ''Trifolium pratense'', the red clover, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa, but planted and naturalized in many other regions. Description Red clove ...

'', ''

Trifolium repens ''Trifolium repens'', the white clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae (otherwise known as Leguminosae). It is native to Europe, including the British Isles,Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg., E.F. 1968. ''Excursio ...

'') and ''

Lathyrus ''Lathyrus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, and contains approximately 160 species. Commonly known as peavines or vetchlings, they are native to temperate areas, with a breakdown of 52 species in Europe, 30 spec ...

'' species ('' Lathyrus pratensis'', ''

Lathyrus linifolius ''Lathyrus linifolius'' is a species of pea, commonly called bitter vetch or heath pea. The name bitter vetch is also sometimes used for '' Vicia ervilia'' and also for '' Vicia orobus''. The tubers of ''Lathyrus linifolius'' were formerly used a ...

'', ''

Lathyrus sativus ''Lathyrus sativus'', also known as grass pea, cicerchia, blue sweet pea, chickling pea, chickling vetch, Indian pea, white pea and white vetch,'' Kew GardensLathyrus sativus'' (grass pea) is a legume (family Fabaceae) commonly grown for human ...

''), as well as ''

Vicia ''Vicia'' is a genus of over 240 species of flowering plants that are part of the legume family (Fabaceae), and which are commonly known as vetches. Member species are native to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some other ...

'', ''

Lotus corniculatus ''Lotus corniculatus'' is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae, native to grasslands in temperate Eurasia and North Africa. Common names include common bird's-foot trefoil, eggs and bacon, birdsfoot deervetch, and just bird's-foot trefoi ...

'', ''

Lotus uliginosus ''Lotus pedunculatus'' (formerly ''Lotus uliginosus''), the big trefoil, greater bird's-foot-trefoil or marsh bird's-foot trefoil, is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae). It is a herbaceous perennial growing throughout Europe in damp, open loc ...

'', ''

Onobrychis viciifolia ''Onobrychis viciifolia'', also known as ''O. sativa'' or common sainfoin () has been an important forage legume in temperate regions until the 1950s. During the Green Revolution it was replaced by high yielding alfalfa and clover species. Due ...

''. Larvae and pupae are occasionally parasitized by ''

Tachinidae The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true fly, flies within the insect order Fly, Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in t ...

'' species ('' Phryxe magnicornis'') and by some species of wasps. The larvae eat until late summer and early winter, and continue to develop in the following year. At the end of May the caterpillars are fully grown. The not fully grown caterpillars overwinter a second time. The caterpillars pupate in an elongated or spindle-shaped yellowish or white cocoon on grasses and other plants. The colour of pupa varies from brown to black. Zygaena lonicerae caterpillar.jpg, Caterpillar Zygaena lonicerae pupa.jpg, Cocoon Zygaenidae - Zygaena (Zygaena) lonicerae.jpg, Cocoon, empty chrysalis ( exuvia) and imago

References

* Naumann, C. M. & Tremewan, W. G. (1999). ''The Western Palaearctic Zygaenidae''. 1. Auflage. Apollo Books, Stenstrup
"Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet ''Zygaena lonicerae'' (Scheven, 1777)"
''BioLib''. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
''Fauna Europaea''

External links

*

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1131333 Zygaena Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths described in 1777