Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Depressariidae Scientific name Ethmia pyrausta | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Ethmia Rank Species | |
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Similar Ethmia, Ethmia dodecea, Ethmia pusiella, Ethmia quadrillella, Ethmia bipunctella | ||
Ethmia pyrausta is a moth of the Depressariidae family. It is found in northern Scandinavia and adjacent Russia. The species is sometimes referred to as being "mythical", because it is so rarely encountered outside its remote native range. It is a rare migrant to the UK and also found occasionally in other areas in Northern Europe.
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Description and ecology
It has black wings and a "hairy" orange body with a wingspan of 17-23mm.
Larva live in a thin silky spin between the leaves and flowers of Thalictrum aquilegiifolium, Thalictrum simplex and Thalictrum flavum. There is no evidence of breeding in the UK.
Sightings in the UK
They were first recorded in the Shin Valley in 1853. Two were found in 1996 on the top of Glas Maol in the Grampians with a further two found nearby.
In June 2008 an adult Ethmia pyrausta moth was discovered in Easter Ross, by Andy Scott and Margaret Currie after finding it trapped in a spider web.