Peach blossom

The peach blossom (Thyatira batis) is a moth of the family Drepanidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.[1]

for other uses of this phrase see Peach Blossom (disambiguation)

Peach blossom
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Drepanidae
Genus: Thyatira
Species:
T. batis
Binomial name
Thyatira batis
Synonyms
  • Phalaena (Noctua) batis Linnaeus, 1758
  • Thyatira batis japonica Werny, 1966
  • Thyatira batis mandschurica Werny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens wilemani Werny, 1966
  • Thyatira batis japonica Dubatolov, 1991
  • Thyatira vicina pallida Rothschild, 1920
  • Thyatira rubrescens assamensis Werny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens kwangtungensis Werny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens nepalensis Werny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens obscura Werny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens orientalis Werny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens szechwana Werny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens tienmushana Werny, 1966
  • Thyatira rubrescens vietnamensis Werny, 1966
  • Thyatira batis mandschurica Werny, 1966

It is found throughout Europe and east through the Palearctic to Japan and Mongolia. It is a fairly common species in the British Isles.

It is a striking species with brown forewings marked with five pink and white blotches which do rather resemble the petals of peach blossom. The hindwings are buff and grey. The wingspan is 40–45 mm. The species flies at night, in western Europe in June and July sometimes with a partial second brood emerges in late August and September. The species is attracted to light and sugar.

  • Both sides MHNT
  • Caterpillar
  • Pupa

The larva is brown with white markings and several humps along its back. At rest it raises both ends as with many drepanids. It feeds on various Rubus species. 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
  • Thyatira batis batis (Russia, Mongolia, Japan, Turkey, Iran, Caucasus, Algeria, Europe, China: Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Hebei, Shaanxi, Gansu, Xinjiang)
  • Thyatira batis formosicola Matsumura, 1933 (Taiwan)
  • Thyatira batis pallida (Rothschild, 1920) (Sumatra)
  • Thyatira batis rubrescens Werny, 1966 (India, Nepal, Vietnam, China: Henan, Shaanxi, Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, Jiangxi, Hunan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet)[2]

References
Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 5
  1. Savela, Markku. "Thyatira batis (Linnaeus, 1758)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  2. "Thyatira batis Linnaeus, 1758". ala.org.au. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  • Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
  • Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984
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