Adscita schmidti (Naufock, 1933)

Host plants:
The larvae feed on sorrels like Rumex acetosa, R. acetosella and R. thyrsiflorus.

Habitat:
Adscita schmidti inhabits especially extensively managed grasslands and pastures in mountain systems of the Iberian Peninsula. It usually misses in the lowlands and always near coasts. I recorded larvae on R. acetosella and R. thyrsiflorus at the edge of a cattle pasture in 1260m in the Sierra de Gredos.

Life cycle:
The moths occur between May and July, according to region and altitude. This is usually later than in A. jordani, except for higher altitudes where both species may occur synchroneous in late June or July. The adults prefer feeding on Jasione, but also other blossoms , even Convolvulus. The eggs are deposited in dense batches (with almost no space between the individual eggs). Some of the half-grown larvae go in aestivation, but Adscita schmidti is less prone to this than A. jordani. The half-grown larvae hibernate finally in various instars. Winter diapause is much more strict than in A. jordani despite the fact that diapause is also abandoned quite early in the spring. I recorded hibernated larvae (penultimate and final instars) at the base of the hostplants (R. thyrsiflorus) or in the neighbouring moss and grass (R. acetosella) in late March 2022. Pupation occurs as usual in a two-layered cocoon in the soil.

Remarks:
Adscita schmidti is closely related to A. statices and is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.