Orange swift | |
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Triodia sylvina, male | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Hepialidae |
Genus: | Triodia |
Species: | T. sylvina |
Binomial name | |
Triodia sylvina (Linnaeus, 1761) |
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Synonyms | |
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The orange swift (Triodia sylvina), also known as "orange moth" (but see Angerona prunaria), is a species of moth belonging to the family Hepialidae. It was previously placed in the genus Hepialus. It is distributed throughout Europe.
This species has a wingspan of 32–48 mm. The male has rich orange forewings with two white bars forming a "v" shape. The hindwings are dark brown. The female is similar but generally larger and less brightly coloured. It flies at night from June to September and is attracted to light.
The larva feeds on the roots of various plants including bracken, dandelion, dock, hop and viper's bugloss. This species overwinters twice as a larva.