Orange swift

For the butterfly with this common name, see Parnara amalia.
Orange swift
Triodia sylvina, male
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hepialidae
Genus: Triodia
Species: T. sylvina
Binomial name
Triodia sylvina
(Linnaeus, 1761)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena (Noctua) sylvina Linnaeus, 1761
  • Alphus sylvinus (Linnaeus, 1761)
  • Hepialus sylvina (Linnaeus, 1761)
  • Hepialus sylvinus (Linnaeus, 1761)
  • Bombyx hamma [Denis and Schiffermuller], 1775
  • Hepialus angulatus Fabricius, 1781
  • Phalaena multicolor Fourcroy, 1785
  • Hegialus crux Fabricius, 1787
  • Noctua angulum de Villers, 1789
  • Noctua c-album de Villers, 1789
  • Hepialus fauna Schrank, 1801
  • Hepialus cruxator Haworth, 1802
  • Hepialus angulator Haworth, 1802
  • Hepialus sylvinator Haworth, 1802
  • Hepialus pallidus Hormuzaki, 1894
  • Hepialus poecilus Hormuzaki, 1894
  • Hepialus kruegeri Turati, 1909
  • Hepialus victoriae Petkoff, 1914
  • Hepialus brunnescens Lempke, 1938
  • Hepialus pauper Lempke, 1938
  • Hepialus androgynus Agenjo, 1942
  • Hepialus pardoi Agenjo, 1942
  • Hepialus alfaroi Agenjo, 1942
  • Hepialus laincalvo Agenjo, 1942
  • Triodia nigrescens Lempke, 1961
  • Triodia obscura Lempke, 1961
  • Triodia pallida Lempke, 1961
  • Triodia reducta Lempke, 1961

The orange swift (Triodia sylvina), also known as "orange moth" (but see Angerona prunaria), is a species of moth belonging to the family Hepialidae. It was previously placed in the genus Hepialus. It is distributed throughout Europe.

Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 5

This species has a wingspan of 32–48 mm. The male has rich orange forewings with two white bars forming a "v" shape. The hindwings are dark brown. The female is similar but generally larger and less brightly coloured. It flies at night from June to September and is attracted to light.

The larva feeds on the roots of various plants including bracken, dandelion, dock, hop and viper's bugloss. This species overwinters twice as a larva.

  1. ^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.

References

Media related to Triodia sylvina at Wikimedia Commons


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