Six-spot Burnet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Zygaenidae

[Photo] Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae). Picture taken by Bernd Haynold (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:BerndH). Date: 24. May 2003.

Copyright (C) 2003 Bernd Haynold Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

The Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae) is a day-flying moth of the family Zygaenidae. It is a common species throughout Europe.

The sexes are similar and have a wingspan of 30-40 mm. The forewings are dark metallic green with 6 vivid red spots (sometimes the spots are merged causing possible confusion with other species such as Five-spot Burnet). Occasionally the spots are yellow or even black. The hindwings are red with a blackish fringe. The adults fly on hot, sunny days from June to August and are attracted to a wide variety of flowers such as knapweed and scabious as well as the larval food plants bird's foot trefoil and clover. The species overwinters as a larva.

The larva is plump and hairy with variable markings, usually pale green with rows of black spots. It pupates in a papery cocoon attached to foliage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-spot_Burnet

The text in this page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article shown in above URL. It is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.