Crambidae : Spilomelinae
Palpita vitrealis
PALPITA vitrealis (Rossi, 1794)
Palpita vitrealis
PALPITA vitrealis (Rossi, 1794)
Life Cycle Guide - Adult Only
Description
Vernacular Name: Olive-tree Pearl : Jasmine Moth
Wingspan: 27 - 31mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe as migrant - excluding (Cyprus,Lithuania,Luxembourg,North Aegean Isles,Slovenia and Ukraine) : Africa - (Angola, Comoros, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, La Reunion, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania,Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) : Madeira : Oriental Region : Australia : South America
UK Distribution: Immigrant from southern Europe mostly recorded in South West England and southern England,recorded as far north as Cumbria,usually appearing in the autumn months
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Dry Meadow with bushes and sparse mixed woodland : Coastal Habitat
Similar Species -
Observations: Resident in southern Europe this moth migrates as far north as Sweden and is found eastwards to the Oriental Regions and Australia, and westwards to South America. In Britain the moth appears in most years but mostly in south west England.
The moth forewings are white and translucent with a glossy sheen and orange or brown leading edge.
It is reported in southern European countries that the larvae are a pest on Olive and Jasmine cultivated for perfume, with a loss of ripening Olives as much as 30%
Wingspan: 27 - 31mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe as migrant - excluding (Cyprus,Lithuania,Luxembourg,North Aegean Isles,Slovenia and Ukraine) : Africa - (Angola, Comoros, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, La Reunion, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania,Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) : Madeira : Oriental Region : Australia : South America
UK Distribution: Immigrant from southern Europe mostly recorded in South West England and southern England,recorded as far north as Cumbria,usually appearing in the autumn months
UK Conservation Status -
- Migrant
- Least Concern
- Phalaena vitrealis (Rossi, 1794)
- Pyralis unionalis Hübner, 1796
- Not Specified
Habitat: Dry Meadow with bushes and sparse mixed woodland : Coastal Habitat
Similar Species -
- None
Observations: Resident in southern Europe this moth migrates as far north as Sweden and is found eastwards to the Oriental Regions and Australia, and westwards to South America. In Britain the moth appears in most years but mostly in south west England.
The moth forewings are white and translucent with a glossy sheen and orange or brown leading edge.
It is reported in southern European countries that the larvae are a pest on Olive and Jasmine cultivated for perfume, with a loss of ripening Olives as much as 30%
Photo Gallery
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Apocynaceae - Dogbane Family
- Wrightia tinctoria - Pale Indigo
- Wrightia tinctoria - Pale Indigo
- Ericaceae - Heather Family
- Arbutus unedo - Strawberry Tree
- Oleceae - Mesophytic Shrubs - Trees - Vines
- Jasmium auriculatum - Vahl
- Jasmium dichotomum - Winter-Flowering Jasmine
- Jasminum officinale - Jessamine, Poet's jasmine
- Jasminum sambac - Arabian Jasmine
- Olea europaea - Olive
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
- Oleceae - Ligustrum - Privet/Fraxinus - Ash
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
Taxonomy
Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - PALPITA: Original Species Name: Species Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae PALPITA Hübner 1808 Palpita vitrealis (Rossi, 1794) - Pyralis unionalis Hübner, 1796 - PHALAENA vitrealis (Rossi, 1794) = Palpita unionalis (Hubner, 1796) = Botys quinquepunctalis Boisduval, 1833 = Margarodes transvisalis Guenée, 1854 = Margarodes septempunctalis Mabille, 1880 = Glyphodes unionalis = Margarodes charalis = Botys intactalis - Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge / errichtet von Jacob Hübner in Augsburg. By Hübner, Jacob, 1761-1826 : Lepidoptera V1 : Pyralidae 11.111 : Plates V6 - 9 : p.40 - f.132 - Not Specified |