Chondrostega escobesae de Freina, Monasterio Léon, Antonietty & Vila, 2015

Host plants:
The larvae are polyphagous in the herb layer on the ground (grasses and herbs or dwarf shrubs). The larvae prefer grasses more than larvae of C. vandalica.

Habitat:
Usually stony and dry mountain pastures, grasslands and areas with dwarf shrubs in medium-high altitudes. But there are also records from almost sea level from salt marshes (Cadiz).

Life cycle:
The moths occur in August and September. The flight time is probably triggered by cooler night temperatures because there is often no rain until the flight time. The wingless females construct typical egg batches along blades or twigs, also on dead branches near the ground. The eggs wait for humid conditions and the sprouting of grasses. They hatch in October and sometimes not before November, according to precipitation in autumn. The larvae feed in the sunshine and can be found until March or more rarely April. In the end of the larval time there are more and more sick and dead larvae (the healthy ones pupate soon) in the field (late March 2019). The larvae are active also during winter (except for frosty weather without sunshine and slight warmth during daytime). The cocoon is constructed in the soil.

Remarks:
Chondrostega escobesae occurs locally in some mountainous regions of southern Spain (ca. 800-1800m), especially in the provinces of Malaga, Granada and Jaen. But there are also records from coastal swamps in Cadiz province. Chondrostega vandalica (of which Chondrostega escobesae used to be a subspecies) occurs more in the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula.