Zygaena fausta is a member of the family Zygaenidae, the day-flying burnet moths. Its bright aposematic colours of red, white and black on the wings indicate to possible predators such as birds that it is foul tasting or poisonous. In flight, the bright red abdomen is revealed, contrasting with the white legs and black head and antennae; the thorax is black and white with an eye spot on each side (see image). There appears to be a considerable variation in pattern among specimens from different parts of Europe.
The southwest of Europe is home to Zygaena fausta. The moth can be found from Spain and Southern Portugal to Western Austria and Southern Germany, northeast to Thuringia, and southeast to North-western Italy.
It is rare or absent from Britain, the Netherlands and Belgium, where related species include the similarly aposematic five-spot burnet and the six-spot burnet.SoortenBank.nl, ETI BioInformatics, http://www.soortenbank.nl/soorten.php?soortengroep=insecten&id=1062
The caterpillar (larva) is dark grey with a black line above a line of white interrupted by yellow bands. The caterpillar's food plants are vetches of the genus Coronilla.Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa, by Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfili, Ilaria Pimpinelli, Diego Reggianti. http://www.leps.it/indexjs.htm?SpeciesPages/ZygaeLaeta.htm
The adults often visit a wide range of flowers including knapweed and eryngo. Typical habitat is dry chalk grassland. Adults fly throughout the summer from April or May until October. The sexes are similar but not identical (see image); mating takes place by day on isolated plants.
Subspecies Zygaena fausta fausta Zygaena fausta agilis Reiss, 1932 Zygaena fausta alpiummicans Verity, 1926 Zygaena fausta baetica Rambur, 1839 Zygaena fausta fassnidgei Tremewan & Manley, 1965 Zygaena fausta faustina Ochsenheimer, 1808 Zygaena fausta fernan Agenjo, 1948 Zygaena fausta fina Burgeff, 1956 Zygaena fausta fortunata Rambur, 1866 Zygaena fausta gibraltarica Tremewan, 1961 Zygaena fausta jucunda Meisner, 1818 Zygaena fausta junceae Oberthur, 1884 Zygaena fausta lacrymans Burgeff, 1914 Zygaena fausta murciensis Reiss, 1922 Zygaena fausta preciosa Reiss, 1920 Zygaena fausta suevica Reiss, 1920
References
External links
Lepiforum.de