Diacrisia sannio (Linnaeus, 1758)

Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1: p. 506, no. 48.
Described in the genus Phalaena (Bombyx). Translated from the Latin
original.

Sannio. 48. Phalaena Bombyx with spiral tongue, with deflexed yellow wings
with a blood-red margin and a fuscous lunule; the lower ones unspotted
beneath.
Lives in Europe.

Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1: p. 510, no. 78. The
female, described in the same work as Phalaena (Noctua) russula, a synonym.
Translated from the Latin original.

russula. 78. Phalaena Noctua with setaceous antennae, smooth, with tawny
wings with red veins; the lower ones variegated with black.
Lives in Europe.
Very similar to Phalaena Bombyx Sannio, so that it might easily be believed
to differ only in sex.

Hampson, G. F. (1901). Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British
Museum, vol. 3: pp. 299-300.

1779. Diacrisia sannio.

Bombyx sannio, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 506 (1758); Kirby, Cat. Het. p. 249.
Geometra vulpinaria, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 520 (1758).
Bombyx russula, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 510 (1758); Clerck, Icones, pl. 4.
f. 1; Esp. Schmett. iii. p. 337, pl. 67. ff. 2-7; Curt. Brit. Ent. i.
pl. 21; Godt. Lep. Fr. iv. p. 348, pl. 35. f. 4; Staud. Cat. p. 56.
Diacrisia irene, Butl. Trans. Ent. Soc. 1881, p. 6; Kirby, Cat. Het.
p. 249.
Nemeophila russula, var. mortua, Staud. Stett. ent. Zeit. xlviii. p. 78
(1887).

♂. Mustard-yellow; head dark brown; antennae with the shaft pink above;
pectus and legs fuscous with some greyish hair, the legs striped with pink;
abdomen pale yellowish largely tinged with fuscous. Fore wing with the
costa fuscous, pink towards apex; a pink fascia on inner margin with some
fuscous on margin; a pink and fuscous discoidal patch; cilia pink. Hind
wing pale yellowish, the basal area usually suffused with fuscous; a large
fuscous discoidal spot; a diffused subterminal band; cilia pink. Underside
of fore wing with the basal area suffused with fuscous; a fuscous
postmedial band angled at veins 5 and 2.

♀. Fulvous orange; palpi, frons, and antennae pinkish; abdomen with dorsal
and lateral series of black spots, or dorsal bands; wings with the veins
red; fore wing with more or less developed discoidal fuscous patch; hind
wing brighter, the basal area suffused with black; a large discoidal spot
and a more or less conjoined subterminal series of spots.

Ab. 1. irene ♂. Fore wing with the markings reduced to a pink point at
lower angle of cell; hind wing without markings.--Japan.

Ab. 2. mortua. Inner margin of fore wing and cilia not pink; female more
suffused with black.--N. Asia, Transalai, Margellan.

Hab. Europe, except Arctic region, Zeller and Frey Colls.; Armenia;
Siberia; Amur, 1 ♀; Japan, Oiwake (Pryer), 3 ♂, 2 ♀, Tokio (Fenton), 2 ♂,
2 ♀, type irene; Corea, Gensan (Leech), 1 ♀; W. China. Exp. 38-54 millim.

Larva. Meyr. Brit. Lep. p. 41; Barrett, Lep. Brit. p. 257, pl. 74. f. 1.
Brown; tubercles blackish; hairs brown; dorsal line ochreous or orange;
spiracles ochreous or white; head dark brown. Food-plants: Hieraceum,
Erica, Scabiosa, etc. 8-5.

Hampson, G. F. (1920). Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British
Museum, Supplement 2: p. 398. As Spilosoma sannio.

1779. Spilosoma sannio, insert:

var. pallida, Staud. Iris, v. p. 347 (1892).
var. caucasica, Schaposch. Ann. Mus. St. Petersb. ix. p. 253 (1904); id.
Jachontov, Rev. Russ. Ent. xii. p. 24 (1912).
Paler; hind wing with the black markings reduced.--W. Turkestan; E.
Siberia.
ab. moerens, Strand, Arch. Naturv. Christian. xxv. 9. p. 23 (1903).
♂ with the hind wing dark. Norway.
ab. uniformis, Bang-Haas, Iris, xx. p. 86 (1907); Seitz, Gr.-Schm. pal. ii.
p. 94, pl. 14 k.
= ab. irene. Samarkand.
ab. immarginata, Niepelt, Intern. Ent. Zeit. ii. p. 181 (1908).
= ab. irene.
ab. amuri, Staud. Rom. Mem. vi. p. 277 (1892).
Hind wing strongly tinged with red, the black markings sharply defined.
E. Siberia, Corea, Japan.
ab. krejai, Closs, Intern. Ent. Zeit. viii. p. 37 (1914).

Seitz, A. (1910). Diacrisia. In: Seitz, A. (ed.), The Macrolepidoptera of
the World, vol. 2, The Palaearctic Bombyces and Sphinges: p. 94, pl. 14 k.
(German edition: Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 2: 94.)

D. sannio L. (= vulpinaria L., russula L.) (14 k). Forewing of the ♂
lemon-yellow, hindwing ivory yellow, both wings with a greyish red median
spot and pink margin. In the ♀ the body and wings are suffused with
brownish red. Throughout Europe with the exception of the Polar region, and
in Iceland. -- In pallida Stgr., which occurs constantly in Central Asia
and aberratively also in Europe, the black colour is reduced. -- In irene
Butl. (= immarginata Niepelt), which occurs in Japan and locally also
elsewhere in the Palearctic region, and is regarded by Matsumura as a
separate species, the black colour is absent on the hindwing of the ♂ and
the median spot on the forewing is generally reduced. -- In uniformis Stgr.
(14 k), from Syr-Darja, the last trace of black and pink has disappeared,
so that extreme specimens of this form are quite uniformly pale yellow on
both sides of the wings and body. -- In specimens from Ferghana, the
Issyk-kul and the neighbouring countries further east in Central Asia, the
red inner margin of the forewing is entirely absent, the black on the
hindwing being however present.