True lover's knot (moth)

True lover's knot
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Lycophotia
Species:	L. porphyrea
Binomial name
Lycophotia porphyrea (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
Synonyms
Noctua porphyrea [Schiffermüller], 1775 Peridroma porphyrea (Denis and Schiffermüller, 1775) Noctua strigula Thunberg, 1792 Phalaena (Noctua) varia Villers, 1789 Phalaena (Noctua) concinna Esper, 1790 Phalaena (Noctua) concinna Esper, 1804 Noctua picta Fabricius, 1794 Phalaena ericae Donovan, 1801 Noctua ericae Haworth, 1809 (preocc. Phalaena ericae Donovan, 1801) Chersotis marmorea Graslin, 1863 Agrotis strigula var. astur Culot, 1909

The true lover's knot (Lycophotia porphyrea) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found in the west Palearctic in a wide band through northern, central and eastern Europe and Russia (up to the Ural Mountains). In the south it is spread through northern Spain and northern Portugal, northern Italy, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and northern Greece. In Europe it is found wherever its food plants grow. It is traditionally thought of as a species typical of heathland and moorland but it can often be found in places where heather and its relatives are in garden cultivation. In the mountains it is found up to an elevation of over 2000 metres above sea level.

This is a small but attractive species, with a wingspan of 26–34 mm (individuals hatched in higher altitudes tend to be smaller than those from the lowlands). The forewings are brown, often tinged with purple and marked with a complex pattern of white markings which are supposed to recall a true lover's knot. The hindwings are grey or buff. It flies from the latter half of June to the beginning of August^[1] and is attracted to light and the flowers of its food plants.