Noctuidae : Noctuinae
Small Square-spot
DIARSIA rubi (Vieweg, 1790)
Small Square-spot
DIARSIA rubi (Vieweg, 1790)
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 30-38mm
Worldwide Distribution: Northern Europe & Central Europe : Caucasus : Transcaucasia : C.Asia : Siberia - Kamchatka
UK Distribution: Well distributed throughout Britain,Isle of Man,Ireland and the Channel Isles
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Gardens : Damp Woodland : Damp pasture : Marshy places
Similar Species -
Pupa: Pupates just below soil
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: This moth can be identified by its pinkish brown forewings with darker brown subterminal and postmedian bands. There is also a small black dot situated between the orbicular spot and the dorsum . The reniform stigmata is usually a lighter yellowish colour whereas the orbicular spot tends to be just lighter than the forewing colour with the area between these marks darker brown giving the appearance of three separate marks.
Second generation moths tend to be darker and smaller and the northern populations tend to be paler.
The moth is attracted to light and feeds at sugar and flowers like Ragwort.
Worldwide Distribution: Northern Europe & Central Europe : Caucasus : Transcaucasia : C.Asia : Siberia - Kamchatka
UK Distribution: Well distributed throughout Britain,Isle of Man,Ireland and the Channel Isles
UK Conservation Status -
- NERC S.41 : 2008 (England) & NERC S.42 2009 (Wales) - Species "of principle importance for the purpose of conserving biodiversity
- Northern Ireland - Priority Species : 2010
- BAP : 2007 - Priority Species
- Common = >300 10Km Squares
- Noctua rubi (Vieweg,1790)
- Noctua dahlii Hübner,1813
- Germany - Branderburg region
Habitat: Gardens : Damp Woodland : Damp pasture : Marshy places
Similar Species -
- Fen Square-spot - Diarsia florida - (Schmidt, 1859)
Pupa: Pupates just below soil
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: This moth can be identified by its pinkish brown forewings with darker brown subterminal and postmedian bands. There is also a small black dot situated between the orbicular spot and the dorsum . The reniform stigmata is usually a lighter yellowish colour whereas the orbicular spot tends to be just lighter than the forewing colour with the area between these marks darker brown giving the appearance of three separate marks.
Second generation moths tend to be darker and smaller and the northern populations tend to be paler.
The moth is attracted to light and feeds at sugar and flowers like Ragwort.
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.
- Asteraceae - Compositae - Aster-Daisy - Sunflower Family
- Taraxacum officinale - Common Dandelion
- Ericaceae - Heather Family
- Calluna vulgaris - Common Heather - Ling
- Rosaceae - The Rose Family
- Rubus idaeus - Raspberry - Framboise
- Salicaceae - Willow Family
- Salix phylicifolia -Tea-leaved Willow
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
- Caryophyllaceae - Stellaria - Stitchwort
- Ericaceae - Vaccinium - Bilberry etc
- Plantaginaceae - Plantago - Plantain
- Poaceae - Gramineae - True Grasses
- Polygonaceae - Rumex - Docks
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
- Salix phylicifolia -Tea-leaved Willow
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Tribe: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - DIARSIA: Original Species Name: Literary Ref: Type Location: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Noctuoidea Noctuidae Noctuinae Noctuini DIARSIA Hübner,[1821] Diarsia rubi (Vieweg,1790) - Noctua dahlii Hübner,1813 - NOCTUA rubi (Vieweg,1790) - Vieweg, 1790 Tabellarisches Verizeichniss der in der Churmark Brandenburg Einheimischen Schmettline 2: Title Page : p.57 - n.85 : pl.3 - f.5 - Germany - Branderburg region |