About Conistra rubiginosa (Scopoli, 1763)
Conistra rubiginosa (Scopoli, 1763) has forewings that are 15–16 mm long. Warren (1914) describes the form vau-punctatum Esp. (= silene F.) (35 h) as having forewings that are rufous or dull purplish overlaid with grey; the veins are finely pale. The lines are indistinct and paler, with slightly darker edges; the submarginal line has a rufous cloud before it on the costa. There are some dark marginal lunules. The stigmata are pale grey: the orbicular has a black crescent in the lower half, and the reniform has black spots separated by the pale veins on the lower and outer edges. There is a small dark spot at the base of the cell. The costa and base of the wing have lilac grey striations. The hindwing is pale fuscous with a large dull cellspot; the fringe is pale, sometimes tinged with rufous.
The rare form immaculata Stgr. has stigmata that lack black spots on their margins. The taxon gallica Led., now recognized as the full species Conistra gallica (Lederer, 1857) (35 h) from France and the Pyrenees, was previously treated as a local form of this species. When considered a form, it was noted to have purplish ground colour that is less obscured by grey suffusion; the area beyond the outer line is dark with the submarginal line clearly marked across it, the bent median shade is also purplish, and the grey suffusion, especially at the base and along the costa, is more strongly expressed.
The larva of Conistra rubiginosa is brown, with pale yellowish dorsal and subdorsal lines. It has oblique mottled lines that meet to form V-shaped marks on the dorsum, black spiracles, a red brown head, and a grey venter. Larvae feed first on Prunus, after which they become polyphagous feeding on low plants.
Generally distributed across Europe except for historically unestablished populations in Britain, this species is found in central and southern Europe. In the north, its distribution extends to southern Fennoscandia, Lithuania and Latvia. In the east, it extends to Ukraine and western Turkey. In southern England, scattered records suggest the presence of established breeding populations, after it was first seen in the region in 2011.
