Adscita bolivari (Agenjo, 1937)

Host plants:
The larvae feed in the first place on Helianthemum sp. (Cistaceae) and Lotus sp. (Fabaceae), most probably also on further Fabaceae as for example Onobrychis which is readily accepted in rearing. Thus the host plant spectre is similar to the much larger sister species Adscita mannii. Both species belong to the subgenus Tarmannita. Possibly also Geranium is used, too.

Habitat:
Adscita bolivari inhabits extensively managed grasslands and pastures, garigues, large woodland clearings and similar places. It is typical for somewhat more mesophilous or even slightly hygrophilous, sometimes flat depressions in large-scale nutrient-poor and dry grassland regions where it often occurs together with Zygaena trifolii and Z. filipendulae on Lotus.

Life cycle:
The imagines fly quite early between May and July with peak in June. They are often found on flowers like thistles and scabiouses. A female has been observed with ovipositing behaviour on Lotus in a quite humid depression where Lotus and Zygaena trifolii had been abundant. Helianthemum occurred only some ten metres away in drier parts. The eggs are deposited in small groups on the host plants. The larvae go into aestivation in mid- and late summer. They feed again in autumn and hibernate in various instars, most often in the third-to-last and penultimate instars. They are mature in April and early May. Pupation takes place as usual in a cocoon in the soil or in the litter.

Remarks:
Adscita bolivari is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula where it is scattered but widespread. It is especially found in the provinces Teruel, Guadalajara, Cuenca, Segovia, Albacete, Jaen and Granada, but also elsewhere like in Salamanca. Adscita bolivari misses completely in the Pyrenees and obviously also in the Northeast. Locally (in central and northern Spain) it may be syntopical with A. geryon. Both species are similar small and not separable in the field, but already the L1 larva is distinguishable by its acceptance of Lotus (which is refused by A. geryon). Later larval instars are also separated macroscopically. They resemble yellow forms of A. mannii, but are much smaller.