True Lover's Knot

This article is about the animal. For the rope knot, see True lover's knot.

True Lover's Knot
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Lycophotia
Species:	L. porphyrea
Binomial name
Lycophotia porphyrea (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
Synonyms
Noctua porphyrea [Schiffermüller], 1775 Peridroma porphyrea (Denis and Schiffermueller, 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. It has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. In Europe it is found wherever its food plants grow. It is traditionally thought of as a species of heathland and moorland but it can often be found in places where heather and its relatives are in garden cultivation.

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 and is attracted to light and the flowers of its food plants.

The larva is reddish-brown with pale lines and feeds on heather and related genera (e.g. Erica). The species overwinters as a larva.

Reading

• Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
• Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to the Moths of the British Isles 1984