49.221 Rhopobota stagnana (Scabious Marble)
ws: ♂11-18mm ♀10-14mm (BTM), fw: 5-9mm (Sterling & Parsons); bivoltine Apr-Jun Aug-Sep; small/devil's-bit scabious (Scabiosa columbaria, Succisa pratensis); NS-B damp woodland and downs throughout GB.
Rhopobota stagnana §1 male
ID: Forewing grey with darker subbasal and median fasciae, the median fascia angular and both fasciae somewhat obscured in the male.
Male genitalia: 3 of the 4 Rhopobota species are characterised by an entirely bifid uncus, each of the lobes of which are much narrower than the adjacent paired structures which are usually regarded as socii but which I think are free gnathos arms. These 3 species are readily distinguished by the form of the valva. Rhopobota naevana has male genitalia that are structurally sufficiently different to question its placement in the same genus.
Female genitalia:
Male genitalia: 3 of the 4 Rhopobota species are characterised by an entirely bifid uncus, each of the lobes of which are much narrower than the adjacent paired structures which are usually regarded as socii but which I think are free gnathos arms. These 3 species are readily distinguished by the form of the valva. Rhopobota naevana has male genitalia that are structurally sufficiently different to question its placement in the same genus.
Female genitalia:
§1 Scardroy (Strathconan), Inverness-shire; 19/05/2026; male; fw 7.9mm; to light
§2 Bac an Eich (Strathconan), Inverness-shire; 22/05/2026; male; fw 8.1mm; netted by day
All images © Chris Lewis
§2 Bac an Eich (Strathconan), Inverness-shire; 22/05/2026; male; fw 8.1mm; netted by day
All images © Chris Lewis
Page published 01/06/2026 (§1&2)
