Yigoga nigrescens (Höfner, 1888)

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives polyphagous on herbs. I found them under Artemisia campestris and Onobrychis sp. along with the already larger larvae of Spaelotis senna in the Valais in mid-April 2009.

Habitat:
Yigoga nigrescens inhabits xerothermic rocky slopes and nutrient-poor grasslands in elevations between 500 and 1500m. I found the larvae only on sunny, hot places.

Life cycle:
The caterpillar hibernates and is mature in May. The moths fly from June to August.

Endangerment: strongly endangered

Endangerment factors:
Yigoga nigrescens is highly threatened because in the lower and medium-high elevations many grasslands get lost through the vineyards, overgrazing, housing sprawl and succession/reforestation.

Remarks:
Yigoga nigrescens occurs in Central Europe only in some dry valleys of the Central and Southern Alps and apparently locally in the French and Swiss Jura.