Peach blossom

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Peach blossom
Thyatira batis 01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Drepanidae
Genus: Thyatira
Species:
T. batis
Binomial name
Thyatira batis
Synonyms
  • Phalaena (Noctua) batisLinnaeus, 1758
  • Thyatira batis japonicaWerny, 1966
  • Thyatira batis mandschuricaWerny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens wilemaniWerny, 1966
  • Thyatira batis japonicaDubatolov, 1991
  • Thyatira vicina pallidaRothschild, 1920
  • Thyatira rubrescens assamensisWerny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens kwangtungensisWerny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens nepalensisWerny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens obscuraWerny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens orientalisWerny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens szechwanaWerny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens tienmushanaWerny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens vietnamensisWerny, 1966
  • Thyatira batis mandschuricaWerny, 1966

The peach blossom (Thyatira batis) is a moth of the family Drepanidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. [1]

Contents

It is found throughout Europe and east through the Palearctic to Japan and Mongolia. It is a fairly common species in the British Isles.

It is a striking species with brown forewings marked with five pink and white blotches which do rather resemble the petals of peach blossom. The hindwings are buff and grey. The wingspan is 40–45 mm. The species flies at night, in western Europe in June and July sometimes with a partial second brood emerges in late August and September. The species is attracted to light and sugar.

The larva is brown with white markings and several humps along its back. At rest it raises both ends as with many drepanids. It feeds on various Rubus species. The species overwinters as a pupa.

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

Subspecies

References

Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 5 Britishentomologyvolume5Plate72.jpg
Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 5
  1. Savela, Markku. "Thyatira batis (Linnaeus, 1758)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  2. "Thyatira batis Linnaeus, 1758". ala.org.au. Retrieved 2020-03-13.