Hadena silenides (Staudinger, 1795)

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives on Silene species. In Fuerteventura, I found them in February 2011 on Silene tridentata.

Habitat:
Hadena silenides colonized dry warm, semi-desert-like terrain.

Life cycle:
Hadena silenides is fitted in the spring therophyts of the semi-deserts. The moths fly in late winter and spring. The caterpillars feed in the spring on the usually annual Pink species. In February 2011, I found in Fuerteventura the young caterpillars on the edge of rocky slopes in the flowers of Silene tridentata. The pupa survives the hot, dry summer period until the next late winter/spring.

Remarks:
Hadena silenides occurs in north Africa, on some Canary Islands (Fuerteventura) and in Europe in Southern Spain.