| Straw-barred Pearl (Pyrausta despicata (Scopoli, 1763)) |
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Scientific name: Pyrausta despicata (Scopoli, 1763) Common name: Straw-barred Pearl French name: Pyrauste du Plantain, Pyrale des buissons. Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Heterocera Family: Crambidae Subfamily: Pyraustinae Wingspan: 14-19 mm. Biotope: Flower meadows with Plantago sp, woodland edges. Geographic area: Europe, North Africa. Flight time: May to June then July to September. Number of generations : 2 Caterpillar: Blackish brown with a double dorsal line and grey-outlined black spots. Host plant: Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), Broadleaf Plantain (Plantago major) and Hoary Plantain (Plantago media ), often in groups inside silken galleries. |
The Straw-barred Pearl shows brown of greyish fore wings with very variable pale brown patterns. They are marked by two dark spots which are not always very visible. You can sometimes distinguish three pale cross stripes. The second one, post-median, often the better marked, is sometimes reduced to a patch close to the costal edge. The hind wings are greyish brown with creamy brown broad post-median band and thin submarginal stripe. The body bears whitish rings. The Straw-barred Pearl over winters as a chrysalis. |
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This Straw-barred Pearl came to visit my small light trap (a first try for me). You can distinguish the two dark spots and the light-coloured post-median band which is better marked close to the costal edge. |
André Bon November 2021