| Mother Shipton Moth | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Noctuidae |
| Genus: | Callistege |
| Species: | C. mi |
| Binomial name | |
| Callistege mi Clerck, 1759 |
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| Synonyms | |
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The Mother Shipton Moth, (Callistege mi) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It was classified by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759, and is also known under the name of Euclidia mi.[1] In Finnish it is known as Piirtoyökkönen and in German as Scheck-Tageule.[2] Its habitat spans over most of Europe, Siberia, the Far East and Asia Minor.[2] On the British Isles it is most common in England and Wales; less so in Scotland and Ireland.[3] It flies by day, normally taking only short, rapid flights,[3] and can be found in wasteland and other open habitats.[3] The adult moth's forewing is 13 to 16 mm (0.51 to 0.63 inches) long, and the wingspan is 25 to 30 mm (0.98 to 1.18 inches).[4] The stages of its life cycle are as follows: egg: May – September, larva: June – September, pupa: July – May, and imago: May – July.[4] It hibernates as a pupa, and does so in a cocoon among blades of grass, or right underneath the ground.[5] Among its foods is the nectar of the white clover and the creeping buttercup.[4]
The popular, English name for this moth comes from the pattern on its forewing. This pattern resembles the iconic representation of Ursula Southeil, known as Mother Shipton – a sixteenth-century prophetess and witch.[1] Mother Shipton is a mostly mythical character, who supposedly foretold the death of Cardinal Wolsey in 1530.[1] Charles Hindley, a nineteenth-century bookseller, created a prophetic poem that he claimed to be by Shipley.[6] This poem told of "Carriages without horses" and air planes, as well as predicting the end of the world in 1881.[7]