The true lover's knot (''Lycophotia porphyrea'') is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family (biology), family of moths. Taxonomically, they are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly ...

. The species was first described by

Michael Denis Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis, also: ''Sined the Bard'', (27 September 1729 – 29 September 1800) was an Austrian Catholic priest and Jesuit, who is best known as a poet, bibliographer, and lepidopterist. Life Denis was born at Schärdin ...

and

Ignaz Schiffermüller Jeremias "Johann" Ignaz Schiffermüller (; 2 November 1727 – 21 June 1806) was an Austrian naturalist and Jesuit teacher who took a special interest in the Lepidoptera. In order to describe the colours of butterflies, he also looked for a syste ...

in 1775. It is found in the west

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

in a wide band through northern, central and eastern Europe and Russia (up to the Ural Mountains). In the south it is spread through northern Spain and northern Portugal, northern Italy, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and northern Greece. In Europe it is found wherever its food plants grow. It is traditionally thought of as a species typical of

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

and

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

but it can often be found in places where heather and its relatives are in garden cultivation, or sunny slopes and forest edges. In the mountains it is found up to an elevation of over 2000 metres above sea level. This is a small but attractive species, with a wingspan of 26–34 mm (individuals hatched in higher altitudes tend to be smaller than those from the lowlands). The forewings are brown, often tinged with purple and marked with a complex pattern of white markings which are supposed to recall a

true lover's knot The term true lover's knot, also called true love knot or simply love-knot amongst others, is used for many distinct knots. The association of knots with the symbolism of love, friendship and affection dates back to antiquity (although the te ...

. The hindwings are grey or buff. It flies from the latter half of June to the beginning of August and is attracted to light and the flowers of its food plants.

Technical description and variation

The species has a wingspan of 26–34 mm. Its forewings are brick red; the veins white; lines dark, irregularly edged with white; stigmata edged with white and black scales; the claviform elongate, slender; the orbicular small and round; hindwing ochreous fuscous. The form ''marmorea'' Grasl. from France, has a pale blurred appearance: – ''concinna'' Esp is deep purple in colour; – while ''suffusa'' Tutt from

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

is larger than the type and brown-red. See also Fibiger, 1993 Elspeetse Heide achtergrond

Biology

The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

is reddish brown or pinkish ochreous; the lines pale or white, broken up and edged with fuscous marks; spiracular line pinkish white, edged above with dark and feeds on heather and related genera (e.g. ''

Erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * Erica (plant), ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * Erica (video game), ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * Erica (spider), ' ...

''). The species overwinters as a larva.

References

Chinery, Michael Michael Chinery (born 1938, in London) is an English naturalist. He studied in Cambridge where he graduated in natural sciences and anthropology. He edits '' Cecidology'', the journal of the British Plant Gall Society The British Plant Gall ...

(1986, reprinted 1991). ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe''. * Skinner, Bernard (1984). ''

The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles ''The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles (Macrolepidoptera)'' by Bernard Skinner is a single volume identification guide to the macromoths of Britain and Ireland. The first edition was published in 1984, and a second, revi ...

''.

External links

*
''Lepiforum e.V.''''De Vlinderstichting''
{{Taxonbar , from=Q1574140 Lycophotia Moths described in 1775 Moths of Europe Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller