Orange Swift

Orange Swift
Orange Swift
Triodia sylvina, male
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hepialidae
Genus: Triodia
Species: T. sylvina
Binomial name
Triodia sylvina
(Linnaeus, 1761)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena (Noctua) sylvina Linnaeus, 1761
  • Alphus sylvinus (Linnaeus, 1761)
  • Hepialus sylvina (Linnaeus, 1761)
  • Hepialus sylvinus (Linnaeus, 1761)

The Orange Swift (Triodia sylvina), also known as "Orange Moth" (but see Angerona prunaria), is a species of moth belonging to the family Hepialidae. It was previously placed in the genus Hepialus. It is distributed throughout Europe.

Triodia.sylvina.7445.jpg
Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 5

This species has a wingspan of 32-48 mm. The male has rich orange forewings with two white bars forming a "v" shape. The hindwings are dark brown. The female is similar but generally larger and less brightly coloured. It flies at night from June to September [1] and is attracted to light.

The larva feeds on the roots of various plants including bracken, dandelion, dock, hop and Viper's Bugloss. This species overwinters twice as a larva.

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

References

  • Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
  • Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984
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