Buff Arches

Buff Arches
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Drepanidae
Genus: Habrosyne
Species: H. pyritoides
Binomial name
Habrosyne pyritoides
(Hufnagel, 1766)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena (Noctua) pyritoides Hufnagel, 1766
  • Phalaena (Noctua) derasa Linnaeus, 1767
  • Gonophora derasoides Butler, 1878
  • Habrosyne pyritoides ochracea Werny, 1966

The Buff Arches (Habrosyne pyritoides) is a moth of the family Drepanidae. It is found throughout Europe and is well distributed in the British Isles except the far north of England and all of Scotland.

This is a distinctive and attractive species, its grey-brown forewings marked with bold buff-orange “arches." The hindwings are grey with white margins. The wingspan is 40-45 mm. It flies from June to August [1] and is attracted to light and sugar.

The larva is orange-brown with a prominent white spot on each side of the head and feeds on bramble, hawthorn and hazel. 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