Spiris striata

Feathered footman

Male of Spiris striata. Lateral view

Mounted specimen. Dorsal view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Erebidae
Subtribe:	Callimorphina
Genus:	Spiris
Species:	S. striata
Binomial name
*Spiris striata* (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Phalaena striata Linnaeus, 1758 Phalaena grammica Linnaeus, 1758 Phalaena processionea Müller, 1774 Phalaena palladia Fourcroy, 1785 Bombyx striata Borkhausen, 1790 Bombyx melanoptera Brahm, 1791 Euprepia funerea Eversmann, 1847 Coscinia albida Schulze, 1910 Eyprepia incompleta Oberthür, 1911 Eyprepia nigra Spuler, 1913 Emydia grammica var. xanthopera Oberthür, 1884 Euprepia grammica f intermedia Oberthür, 1910 Coscinia striata strandi Obraztsov, 1936 Coscinia striata wisniewskii Wojtusiak et Niesolowski, 1946 Coscinia striata hospitali Marten, 1948

Spiris striata (feathered footman) is a moth of the family Erebidae.

Description

This very distinctive moth has a wingspan of 30–35 mm. Forewings are usually yellow or light yellow, with narrow longitudinal dark brown stripse in males, while in females the striations may be missing or restricted to the outer parts. Also hind wings are yellow, but they are darker and much wider than forewings and show a dark brown edge. The antennae of the males are pinnate. The caterpillars are hairy and black, with bright spots on the sides and a reddish-brown stripe on the back. The moths are diurnal and they fly May to August depending on the location.

The larvae feed on low vegetation and grasses, such as Silver grass (Corynephorus spec.), Fescue (Festuca spp.), Heather (Calluna spp.), Meadow Sage (Salvia pratensis), Hawkweed (Hieracium spp.) and Mugwort (Artemisia spp.).

Distribution and habitat

This species can bes found in Europe, Anatolia, Kazakhstan, Siberia and Mongolia (excluding eastern regions). The feathered footman prefers sunny, sandy, open areas with grass and herbaceous plants, rarely calcareous grasslands.

References

LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Beccaloni G.W., Scoble M.J., Robinson G.S. & Pitkin B., 2005-06-15
Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D. (red.) (2011) Catalogue of Life

External links

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