| Udea fulvalis (Hübner, 1809) |
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Scientific name: Udea fulvalis (Hübner, 1809) Common name: French name: Botys fauve Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Heterocera Family: Crambidae Subfamily: Pyraustinae Wingspan: 24 to 29 mm. Biotope: Meadows, hedgerows, parks and gardens. Geographic area: Europe. Flight time: July to August. Number of generations : 1 Caterpillar: The pale green body shows some sparse white hairs and two parallel white dorsal stripes. There are two large black spots at the back of the pinkish head. Host plant: Various Lamiaceae of the Ballota, Salvia and Nepeta genus. Caterpillars are also observed on plants of the Lychnis and Cornus genus. They pupate against leaves of the host plants. |
Udea fulvalis is characterized by a brown orange ground colour on the fore wings. You can see two darker brownish patches near the costal edge. The patch which is closest to the base, in the discal area, is rounded, it is called the orbicular patch. The patch in the postdiscal area is kidney-shaped, it is called the reniform patch. The fore wings are crossed by two dark wavy lines. These lines run from the inner edge starting about at the same level as the previously mentioned patches. The line which is closer to the base is first straight. It suddenly turns forwards not to touch the orbicular patch and then runs to the costal edge. The second line is more wavy. It first shows a small point towards the margin before drawing a tight curve forwards, next to the reniform patch. Then it turns around this patch and runs to the costal edge, drawing a wide curve on the marginal side. The submarginal area often shows a paler colour just at the back of this line before a darker coloured area next to the margin. The hind wings are pale brown with a white margin. The legs and the underside parts are white. The dark brown palps are pointing forwards at the front of the head. There are several similar species, especially Udea prunalis and Udea lutealis. Udea prunalis is a dark grey colour on the upper side (no orange colour). The postdiscal wavy cross line appears as a dotted line while it is rather like a continuous line on Udea fulvalis. Udea lutealis is a much paler creamy colour. The patches and the cross lines appear as slightly darker thin lines. |
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I had already observed this small Crambidae, during the night, gathering nectar on the Buddleia, but I had not yet succeeded in taking a correct picture to tell the species apart. And then, I have been able to observe it during a rainy day of June. |
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The legs and the underside parts, or at least what I am able to see, are a very nice pure white colour. You can only see some small traces of brown on the tibiae. |
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Here is another observation,close to the previous one regarding both date and location. |
André Bon February 2013