Phymatopus
| Phymatopus | |
|---|---|
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| Phymatopus hecta | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Suborder: | Homoneura |
| Infraorder: | Exoporia |
| Superfamily: | Hepialoidea |
| Family: | Hepialidae |
| Genus: |
Phymatopus Wallengren, 1869 or auctt. nec Wallengren, 1869 |
| Synonyms | |
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Phymatopus (Originally: Noctua Linnaeus, 1758) is a genus of moths belonging to the hepialidae family (commonly referred to as swift moths or ghost moths), which consists of around 500 species and 30 genera. They can be found across Eurasia and North America. Species can be distinguished by the different morphology of male genitalia and different forewing patterns, which vary in stripe colour and size and arrangement of spots. The stripes themselves consist of spots separated by dark veins which are fringed by thin black lines from both inner and outer sides.
Phymatopus auctt. nec Wallengren, 1869
The genus Phymatopus is considered monotypic and species can be distinguished by forewing pattern and male genitalia. Phymatopus lack spurs on the tibiae and like other members of the Hepialidae family, also lack a proboscis or frenulum and have very short antennae.
The gold swift (Phymatopus hectus), originally belonging to the Hepialus genus, is widely distributed across Europe (Central and North) and the Ural mountains, follows the distribution of its foodplant- bracken and roots of Erica, Primula, Rumex, Calluna. The male forewings bear two silvery white stripes consisting of individual spots separated by dark veins, which are fringed with thin black lines. The dorsal process of valvella (part of male genitalia) is almost straight, and the mesosome tip is rounded.
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Wikipedia