Heliothis ononis ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)

Host plants:
The larvae are quite polyphagous especially on flowers and seeds of various plants like Odontites, ononis, Knautia, Salvia, Artemisia, Linum and especially Caryophyllaceae like Dianthus sylvestris and Silene nutans.

Habitat:
Heliothis ononis inhabits warm nutrient-poor grasslands in the lowlands (nowadays almost only from eastern Europe to parts of temperate Asia) as well as steppe grasslands, pastures and steep, often rocky slopes in mountains up to over 2600m (e.g. parts of the Alps).

Life cycle:
The pupa hibernates in a soft cocoon in the soil. The moths fly either in one generation between late May and early August (above 1500m) or from late April to June and again in a partial second generation from July to September in lower altitudes. The adults are active during daytime, but are inconspicuous because of their fast flight and smallness. They are most likely spotted visiting flowers. Oviposition occurs usually singly or in small groups , often into inflorescences, e.g. of Knautia. The young larvae usually live and feed within the flowers. Only the older instars rest outside on the stems etc. I recorded such larvae occasionally in the Swiss Simplon region on Silene nutans and once near the Oberalppass (Grisons) on Dianthus sylvestris. In an ex ovo rearing most larvae changed to Silene vulgaris flowers when simultaneously offered with flowering Ononis.
Erhardt (1990) also supposed that many larvae change to Dianthus sylvestris (east side of the Oberalppass) even if oviposition had been observed mainly on other plants in the field.

Remarks:
In central Europe, Heliothis ononis still occurs mainly in the western Alps. Here it is found from teh French Alps across the NW-Italian Alps to Switzerland (Valais, westernmost Grisons, locally also southern Bernese Alps). The sites in the lowlands (e.g. Upper Rhine Valley) are mostly abandoned.
Moreover, Heliothis ononis occurs locally from eastern Europe across the steppe belt and some Asian mountain ranges to Korea. It is also found in some regions of North America (Holarctic distribution type).
It is considered a migratory species (but to a considerably lesser extent as in some congeners) and may appear singly and rarely distant from breeding sites, too.

Literature:
Erhardt, A. (1990): Chloridea ononis D. & S.: Evidence for an autochthonous population in the Swiss Alps (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) – Nota lepidopterologica – 13: 207 - 212.