Common Marble

Fascinating facts about the Common Marble

• The dark strawberry tortrix is a small moth whose caterpillars grow to about 15 mm long, matching the size of the adult's wings. An adult's wingspan reaches 16-18 mm, giving it a slightly larger overall footprint than the larva. Both stages share a brown colouration, with the caterpillars ranging from brown to dark brown. This size relationship is typical for the species.
• Adult dark strawberry tortrix moths become active at dusk and can be seen flying from late April through September in temperate regions such as Belgium and the Netherlands. Their flight period therefore covers the whole summer, reflecting the species' single-generation life cycle. Being univoltine, they produce one brood each year, which emerges and remains on the wing throughout this extended period.
• The larvae of this moth are polyphagous, feeding on a long list of herbaceous plants ranging from Daucus and Mentha to Picea and Larix. Such a broad diet allows the species to thrive in a variety of habitats, especially where these host plants occur together. Consequently, it is a very common sight in hedgerows, fields and woodland edges across its range.
• The dark strawberry tortrix is found throughout Europe and reaches the most northern nations of the eastern Palearctic, extending its range into the Near East. Within this broad distribution it remains a very common species, regularly encountered wherever suitable habitats occur. It favours the edges of woodlands, open fields and hedgerows, environments that provide both shelter and abundant host plants.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Common Marble

In the dappled light of woodland clearings, the Common Marble dances on delicate wings, its intricate patterns of brown and white a mesmerizing blur as it flits from flower to flower. With an ethereal elegance, this tiny moth navigates the intricate tapestry of its surroundings, its gentle touch leaving barely a whisper on the petals it alights upon. As it moves, the Common Marble leaves behind a trail of subtle beauty, a fleeting glimpse of wonder in the secret world of the forest floor.

More insects and spiders to discover

Browse Feravox