Spoladea recurvalis

• Subfamily: Spilomelinae
• Wingspan: 19-24 mm
• Flight period: May - Oct
• Spread: Uncommon
• Host plants: Chenopodiaceae, Poaceae, Amaranthaceae ...

Information

The Spoladea recurvalis is a moth of the Crambidae family, subfamily Spilomelinae, with a wingspan of 19-24 mm.
In Europe it is present in Portugal, Spain, France, United Kingdom Holland Germany and Denmark. * In Italy it is absent from the islands.

The front wing of the Spoladea recurvalis is dark brown or gray / brown in color, with a large white median band starting from the inner margin and ending with a hook before reaching the costa; the rear wing has a large white band that starts on the rib and closes on the inner edge through the wing, with three white spots beyond it; both wings are fringed with alternating light and dark spots. The head and thorax are brown, the abdomen is brown with a narrow white band near the thorax.

It is a bivoltine species and the adults are visible from May to October depending on the position. Preferred habitats are gardens, fields and less frequented places.
The larvae are light green with a dark band surrounded by white, the head is ocher with a series of darker spots. ** At maximum growth they are about 19 mm long.

The pupa forms inside a light cocoon in a folded piece of leaf and is a very light, faded brown color. The pupa stage lasts approximately 12 days.

The larvae feed on the underside of the leaves protected by a slight net of Chenopodiaceae such as Beta vulgaris (beet) and Chenopodium, Poaceae such as Zea mays (maize), Amaranthaceae such as Celosia sp., Portulacaceae such as Portulaca sp ..


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/