| True Lover's Knot | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Noctuidae |
| Genus: | Lycophotia |
| Species: | L. porphyrea |
| Binomial name | |
| Lycophotia porphyrea (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) |
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| Synonyms | |
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The True Lover's Knot (Lycophotia porphyrea) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. In Europe it is found wherever its food plants grow. It is traditionally thought of as a species of heathland and moorland but it can often be found in places where heather and its relatives are in garden cultivation.
This is a small but attractive species, with a wingspan of 26–34 mm (individuals hatched in higher altitudes tend to be smaller than those from the lowlands). The forewings are brown, often tinged with purple and marked with a complex pattern of white markings which are supposed to recall a true lover's knot. The hindwings are grey or buff. It flies from the latter half of June to the beginning of August[1] and is attracted to light and the flowers of its food plants.
The larva is reddish-brown with pale lines and feeds on heather and related genera (e.g. Erica). The species overwinters as a larva.