73.033 Diloba caeruleocephala (Figure of Eight)
fw: 15-19mm (Waring & Townsend); Sep-Nov; blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), hawthorns (Crataegus spp) and various rosaceous trees; formerly common in most of England, Wales and S.Scotland, now declining.
ID: Forewing grey with some lilac especially proximal to antemedian line; blackish central basal streak; narrow sinuous antemedian and postmedian lines; prominent predominantly white stigmata, the oval bilobed to form the "figure of eight", the kidney more variable in shape, the two often connected; antenna bipectinate in male. Tethea ocularis (Figure of Eighty) (Family: Drepanidae) has similar markings except that it is the kidney that is bilobed to form an "8" and the oval is an oval "0"; it flies May-Jul; antenna simple in male..
Dissection
Male genitalia
§1 Belton Hills, Essex; 25/10/2017; male; fw 16.2mm; to light
§2 Belton Hills, Essex; 25/10/2017; male; to light
All images © Chris Lewis
§2 Belton Hills, Essex; 25/10/2017; male; to light
All images © Chris Lewis
Page published 31/10/2017 (§1-2)