Rank Species | Genus Diloba Order Butterflies and moths | |
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Similar Butterflies and moths, Allophyes oxyacanthae, Abrostola triplasia, Abrostola tripartita, Satellite | ||
Diloba caeruleocephala, the figure of eight, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Palearctic.
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Distribution
Diloba caeruleocephala is found in most of Europe except northern Scandinavia, the northern part of the British Isles and the North of Russia. In the South it occurs in North Africa and the Middle East (Lebanon, Israel and Jordan) also in Asia minor, Iran and Kazakhstan.It is largely missing in Portugal. In Europe the focus of spread is in southern Europe.
Description
The wingspan is 30–40 mm. The length of the forewings is 15–19 mm. The heavily combed antennae of the male and the thick, woolly-hairy body of the female is untypical of Noctuidae. The forewings are grey or grey-brown with a purple sheen.The reniform and orbicular stigmata are both in the shape of a figure 8 enclosed in yellowish white. The post median and subterminal lines are black.There is a black tornal streak. The hinnwing is ochreous white. The cilia are greyish brown with a wedge-shaped black tornal mark.
The moth flies in one generation from late August to mid-November in Belgium and The Netherlands; and late September to mid-November in the UK.
The larvae feed on various deciduous trees and shrubs, mainly Sorbus, Prunus spinosa and Crataegus. .
