Adscita mannii (Lederer, 1853)

Host plants:
Cistaceae like especially Helianthemum species (e.g. Valle di Susa), but often also Onobrychis (Fabaceae, observations of larvae in Provence: Massif de la Sainte Baume, ovipositions in northern Greece). In rearing the larvae also accept Lotus and Geranium. In Sicily I observed oviposition on Cistus (Cistaceae).

Habitat:
Adscita mannii colonizes dry and warm habitats like especially calcareous grasslands and steppe-like, dry and often shrubby slopes, garrigues or pastures.

Life cycle:
The moths fly very early. In the Valle di Susa (Italy), I found adults in mid-May at 500 meters. Mature larvae have been observed in the Ste. Baume in 800m above sea level in early April. In N-Greece and on the Peloponnese I recorded adult moths mainly in May and early June, sometimes upt to mid-June. In Sicily I recorded first moths in late April 2023.

Oviposition occurs in small or large batches mostly on the lower side of leaves, but also on stems of the host plants. The young larvae develop for some time and aestivate then at least in dry and hot environments. They restart development in autumn. Then they interrupt activity only in the north, during cold periods or generally in the beginning of winter. The larvae are mature usually already in March or early April. In the Provence and in N-Greece I observed larvae with yellowish subdorsal zones, but in Sicily with whitish ones. This seems to be regionally different.

Endangerment factors:
North of the Alps Adscita mannii is only known from the Upper Rhine Valley (e.g. Kaiserstuhl in Germany), where many habitats have been lost by the intense viticulture. Whether the remaining areas will be sufficient to maintain Adscita mannii, is to be seen in future (remark: Adscita mannii has disappeared from the German Kaiserstuhl in the meanwhile!).

Otherwise Adscita mannii is distributed from northeast Spain via the south of France and Italy to the Balkans and the Black Sea. In northern Greece I met numerous adults in the Askio mountains in May 2010.
Adscita mannii is quite variable in its size. Specimens from N-Spain are small, whereas those from coastal Italy and Croatia e.g. are very large. In Sicily they were very conspicuous among the Jordanita tenuicornis and J. notata even before checking the antennae.