The wingspan is 35–41mm (1.4–1.6in).Warren (1914) states R. subrosea Stph. (= rhomboidea Stph. nec Esp.) (7 i). Forewing rufous grey, dusted with pale grey; stigmata large, pale grey; the cell rufous or red-brown; the claviform obsolete; hindwing greyish ochreous, with diffusely darker border; fringe ochreous. Typical subrosea Stph. occurred formerly within a restricted area in the fens of Britain, but is now extinct. The form subcoerulea Stgr. (7 k) which is bluer grey, is found in Sweden, Prussia, Russia and in Amurland. Larva reddish grey, with paler lines;the spiracular line brighter yellow; food plants Myrica, Gale'' and Salix.[1]
The moth is univoltine, flies July and August and comes to light.
Ovum
The eggs are laid as singles or a few at a time. They are hemispherical with around 20 longitudinal ribs and hatch in around ten days.[2]
Larvae
Fully fed, larvae are c. 40 mm long and can be found from late-August to mid-June, feeding at night and through the winter when conditions are mild. The larvae feed on dwarf birch (Betula nana), bog-myrtle (Myrica gale), heather (Calluna vulgaris), bog bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia) and marsh rosemary (Rhododendron tomentosum). They drop to the ground if the foodplant is touched or vibrates.[2][3]
Pupa
Pupation is in a loose, silken cocoon, spun almost vertically, in the debris of the bog or sphagnum. Emergence usually occurs in the evening by 22:00 hours.[2]
Listed as an endangered species in Great Britain it was known from the Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshirefens in the 19th-century and believed extinct until found at two sites in mid-Wales in the 1960s (now known from five sites). In 2005 it was discovered in Cumbria, where it is known from two sites.[5][6][7]
Etymology
Stephen’s originally named the moth, Graphiphora subrosea from the type specimen found at Whittlesea, Cambridgeshire in 1829. Graphiphora was raised by the German actor and entomologist (lepidopterist), Ferdinand Ochsenheimer in 1816. Graphis is a style or stilus for writing on wax tablets and phoreо̄ to carry; from the ‘dart’ or claviform stigma on the forewing. The moth is currently called Coenophila subrosea; the specific name is from rubricosus and refers to the ground colour of the forewing which is similar to the colour of red ochre.[8].
References
↑Warren, W. in Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde, Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
↑Henwood, Barry; Sterling, Phil; Lewington, Richard (2020). Field Guide to the Caterpillars of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Bloomsbury. p.364. ISBN978-1-4729-3358-4.
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