Neha Patil (Editor)

Marbled beauty

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Class
  
Insecta

Genus
  
Cryphia

Rank
  
Species

Phylum
  
Arthropoda

Family
  
Noctuidae

Scientific name
  
Cryphia domestica

Marbled beauty 2293 Marbled Beauty Noctuidae Cryphia domestica Simply Birds

Similar
  
Cryphia, Lesser broad‑bordered yellow un, Cryphia algae, Straw underwing, Manulea lurideola

2293 marbled beauty


The marbled beauty (Cryphia domestica) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is an abundant species throughout most of Europe east to the Urals, probably the commonest lichenivorous moth of the Palearctic region.

Contents

Marbled beauty Marbled Beauty Bryophila domestica NatureSpot

This is quite a small species with a wingspan of 22–30 mm. The forewings are white with dark grey cryptic markings, giving excellent camouflage against the lichens on which the eggs are laid. The intensity of the markings vary considerably, with darker individuals predominating in urban areas, an example of industrial melanism. A significant proportion of individuals also have orange or yellow markings. The hindwings are whitish with a broad grey band at the margin. The adults fly at night in July and August [1] and are attracted to light.

Marbled beauty Hants Moths 73084 Marbled Beauty Bryophila domestica

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Distribution

Marbled beauty Marbled Beauty Bryophila domestica NatureSpot

Across Europe, where it occurs as far south as Sicily and in the north to Gotland. The eastern distribution is uncertain but it may reach central Asia. It rises over 2000 metres above sea level in the Alps.

Technical description

Marbled beauty Marbled Beauty Bryophila domestica UKMoths

Forewing cream white with slaty-grey markings; orbicular and claviform stigmata contluent forming a figure of eight; hindwing whitish grey with cell spot and outer line dark grey.The species varies in opposite directions; either the dark scales of forewing are more or less obsolete and the wing is overrun with yellow scaling ab. lutescens Fuchs or the wing becomes wholly suffused with the dark tints ab. suffusa Tutt; the dark specimens from the Pyrenees, referred here by Staudinger, are blacker than the very darkest British specimens, the whole hindwing being blackish also; in ab. distincta Tutt the ground colour is white, the discoidal spots dark grey; four short dark dashes on costa at centre and a shade near apex, a short basal streak and a shade beneath the orbicular stigma are the only markings.

Marbled beauty httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

The larva is bluish grey with orange markings along the back. It feeds exclusively on lichens such as Lecidea and Xanthoria. This species overwinters as a larva.

Marbled beauty West Dunbartonshire Moth Blog Marbled Beauty Cryphia domestica

References

Marbled beauty Wikipedia