Appearance
The adult wingspan is 52–65 millimetres, and they fly from July to September, depending on the location. They tend to fly close to "Eupatorium cannabinum", where they are hard to notice because of their camouflage.
Naming
The species was first described by Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus in 1761.⤷ "Euplagia quadripunctaria quadripunctaria"
⤷ "Euplagia quadripunctaria fulgida"
⤷ "Euplagia quadripunctaria rhodosensis"
Distribution
"Euplagia quadripunctaria" is widely distributed in Europe from Estonia and Latvia in the north to the Mediterranean coast and islands in the south. It is also found in western Russia, the southern Urals, Asia Minor, Rhodes and nearby islands, the Near East, Caucasus, southern Turkmenistan, and Iran. Individuals are known to migrate northwards from their regular breeding grounds during the summer.
Food
The larvae are polyphagous, feeding from September to May on nettles and raspberries, dandelion, white deadnettle, ground ivy, groundsel, plantain, borage, lettuce, and hemp-agrimony. The insect overwinters as a small larva.References:
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