Burnished Brass Diachrysia chrysitis
Back To (Linnaeus, 1758)
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Noctuidae » Plusiinae
28 - 35 mm.
Common over most of the British Isles, this spectacular moth has large areas of metallic colouring on the forewings.
Similars Superficially resembles the rare immigrant Slender Burnished Brass Thysanoplusia orichalcea and nationally scarce Scarce Burnished Brass Diachrysia chryson,he length of the forewings is 16–18 mm.
Forewing brassy green; the basal patch and broad median fascia, widening at costa, purplish brown; subterminal line preceded by a shade showing deeper green in certain lights; the terminal area paler brown; the three stigmata with dark outlines; hindwing fuscous with the fringe pale; in the ab. juncta Tutt the median fascia is more or less widely broken in the middle, the two brassy green areas becoming confluent; - in ab. aurea Huene the green is deep golden, with the golden bands confluent; ab. disjuncta Schultz, golden with the bands not confluent, while in ab. scintillans Schultz the bands are dull blue green
Forms include f. juncta disjuncta & aurea
The species is double-brooded, with moths on the wing between June and September.
The Larva feeds on Stinging Nettle,(Urtica dioica) White Dead-nettle, Wild Marjoram, Lesser Burdock and Spear Thistle. and the species inhabits gardens, waste ground and marshy areas.t