About Trachea atriplicis (Linnaeus, 1758)
This species is Trachea atriplicis (Linnaeus, 1758). For the typical form T. atriplicis L. (43 g): the forewing is greyish purple, dusted with dark fuscous scales. The basal area, the shade that comes before the submarginal line (especially in its lower half), and the upper stigmata are bright pale green. The median area below the subcostal vein is deep dark green. A large white blotch, usually tinged pink, with a split (bifid) outer end runs along vein 2 to the outer line. The submarginal line is greenish white, angled sharply inwards on the submedian fold and bluntly beyond the cell, and is accompanied by dark and light green clouding. The hindwing is fuscous grey, with its outer half dark fuscous, and shows faint traces of a dark cellspot and outer line. Several named aberrations are recorded: ab. similis Stgr., found in Ussuri and Central Germany, has olive tones in place of the typical green tints, and a yellow pale blotch. ab. diffusa Spul. has all markings faint and washed out, a trait that is commonly seen in bred specimens. The Japanese form ab. gnoma Btlr. (43 g) is larger, deeper purple, with less developed green shadings, and a larger, more conspicuous white blotch. The larva is purplish brown, sometimes with a green tinge. Its dorsal and subdorsal lines are blackish, with faint oblique lateral stripes. The spiracular lines are pinkish white, and darker along their upper edge. The wingspan of this species ranges 38–42 mm, and the forewing length ranges 20–22 mm.
