About Eulithis populata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Eulithis populata has a wingspan of 25 to 32 millimeters. The forewings of this moth have a yellow base color, which can vary from straw yellow to orange-brown or dark brown. The forewings feature a brown central band, a brown basal patch, and a W-shaped projection on the cross band. Mature caterpillars are extremely variable in color, and may be whitish, yellowish, greenish, brownish, blackish, or reddish. They can most often be identified by three key traits: a dark dorsal line on the front body segments, dark wedge-shaped spots on the posterior segments, and a distinct thickened brown ring on the second body segment. This species is rather similar in appearance to Eulithis mellinata and Eulithis pyraliata. Eulithis populata is a Holarctic species distributed across North America, Europe, the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, the Urals, Siberia, the Russian Far East, and North Mongolia. These moths typically live in blueberry forests, mixed forests, peat moorland, wetlands, and grassland. In terms of altitude distribution, this species can be found up to 2500 meters in the Alps, and up to 2300 meters in the Pyrenees.
