| Small Magpie (Eurrhypara hortulata (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Eurrhypara hortulata (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Small Magpie Other names: Other scientific name: Anania hortulata. French name: Pyrale de l'ortie, Queue jaune. Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Heterocera Family: Crambidae Subfamily: Pyraustinae Wingspan: 24-28 mm. Biotope: Damp forests, waste lands, parks and gardens and any place where Nettles grow. Geographic area: Europe, North America. Flight time: May to August. Number of generations : 1 Caterpillar: The upper side is pale green with two thin white dorsal lines. The under side is paler. The head is black with two black spots at the back. The body turns to whitish or pale pinkish at the last development stage. Host plant: Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica), Stachys sp, Mints (Mentha sp) and some other plants of the Ballota, Marrubium, Galeopsis, Convolvulus and Ribes genus. |
It is easy to tell the Small Magpie apart. The wings are black and white. The black spots form some kind of cross stripes. The body is yellow and black. The yellow colour is mainly visible on the thorax and on the abdomen tip when this moth is landed. The caterpillar shelters inside a rolled leaf. It over winters inside a cocoon in a plant stem or under tree bark. The Small Magpie is attracted to light. |
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This small Magpie, attracted to light, has entered into the house to land on a luminaire. |
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It has been easy to shoot pictures, I had just to stand up on a chair. |
André Bon January 2013