Euthrix potatoria

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Euthrix potatoria
Philudoria potatoria m 9995.jpg
Male
Lasiocampidae - Euthrix potatoria.jpg
Female
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lasiocampidae
Genus: Euthrix
Species:
E. potatoria
Binomial name
Euthrix potatoria
Synonyms
  • Philudoria potatoria
Caterpillar Euthrix potatoria caterpillar (top view) - Keila.jpg
Caterpillar

Euthrix potatoria, the drinker, is an orange-brown moth of the family Lasiocampidae. [1]

Contents

The species' common and scientific names derive from the larva's supposed drinking of drops of dew. [2]

Name

The scientific name Euthryx potatoria was given to this moth by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. In choosing the name potatoria 'drinker-like', he was inspired by the Dutch entomologist Johannes Goedaert, who had called the animal dronckaerdt 'drunkard' "because it is very much inclined to drinking". [3] This remark refers to the moth's habit of repeatedly plunging its head into the water. [4] The English name drinker (moth) also refers to Goedaert's analogy.

Subspecies

Subspecies include: [1]

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found in Europe. [5] The species is fairly common in the southern half of Britain.[ citation needed ] In Scotland, it is common in the west but not in the east of the country. [6] It is most frequently found in marshy places, fens and riversides but may also be seen in drier, grassy terrain. [7] [2]

Description

Imago

The imago has a wingspan of 4.5–6.5 cm (1.8–2.6 in). The yellowish females are slightly larger than the orange-brown male but both sexes usually show the two distinctive white spots on the forewing. [2] Females have slightly serrated antennae, while male have deeply combed antennae. [8]

Larvae and pupae

The fully grown larva is about 6 cm (2.4 in) long, hairy, striped and spotted, with distinctive tufts fore and aft. Larvae hibernate while young and resume feeding in the spring, pupating in a cocoon during the summer. [7]

Biology

This nocturnal moth flies from June to August depending on the location. Males especially are attracted to light. [7] [2] The females lay their eggs in small clusters, mainly on the stem of grasses or reeds. [8] The larvae feed on various grasses and reeds ( Alopecurus , Deschampsia , Dactylis , Elymus (syn. Elytrigia), Carex , Luzula and other Gramineae). [9]

References

  1. 1 2 "Euthrix potatoria (Drinker)". BioLib. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The Drinker". UKmoths. Ian Kimber. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  3. ↑ Goedaert, Johannem (1662). Metamorphosis naturalis (in Dutch). Middelburgh: Jaques Fierens. p. 47. doi: 10.5962/bhl.title.15828 . Archived from the original on 2014-05-30. Retrieved 2025-05-27– via Biodiversity Heritage Library. Ick heb hem den dronckaerdt ghenaempt om dat hy feer tot het drincken genegen was. [I called him the "drunkard" because he was very fond of drinking.]
  4. ↑ Beelen, Hans; van der Sijs, Nicoline (2018). "Natneus, molenaar, hypocriet. Insectennamen uit de zeventiende eeuw" [Wet nose, miller, hypocrite. Insect names from the seventeenth century.](PDF). Onze Taal (in Dutch) (7/8). The Hague: Genootschap Onze Taal: 26–27. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  5. ↑ "Euthrix potatoria (Linnaeus 1758) - Taxon Details". faunaeur.org. Berlin: Fauna Europaea. 2013-08-29. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  6. ↑ "Scottish Moth Flight Times and Distribution Maps - East Scotland branch". eastscotland-butterflies.org.uk. Wareham, Dorset: Butterfly Conservation. 2022-11-03. Code 66.010 (1640). Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  7. 1 2 3 Ford, R.L.E. (1974). The Observer's Book of Larger Moths . London: Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. p. 223. ISBN   0723215340 . Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  8. 1 2 "The Drinker moth (Euthrix potatoria)". Wildlife Insight. Falmouth, UK: Claire & Steve Ogden. 2015-03-28. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  9. ↑ Mazzei, Paolo; Morel, Daniel; Panfili, Raniero. "Euthrix potatoria (Linnaeus, 1758)". Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa. Rome. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
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