Stenoecia dos (Freyer, [1838])

Host plants:
The larvae feed on flowers and fruits of Silene species (Caryophyllaceae). In Lesbos Island, I recorded larvae in/on Silene subconica.

Habitat:
Stenoecia dos inhabits warm and open sites with the host plants, such as flowery meadows or dry fallow land with many therophytes. In Lesbos Island, I recorded the larvae in coastal dunes in the transition zone between open sand and dense inland grasslands.

Life cycle:
The pupa with its extraordinarily long free proboscis sheath (that not only reaches the cremaster, but is even bent over there and reaches the mid-part of the dorsal abdomen) hibernates in a dense cocoon in the ground. The moths are active during daytime and are recorded between April and June (according to region). They also visit Silene flowers and hoover in front of them. The larva lives within the flowers when young, but temporarily outside when larger. I recorded the larvae in late May 2019 (Lesbos).

Remarks:
Stenoecia dos is known locally from Anatolia. In Europe, only a single record has been published from the Republic of North Macedonia (FYROM) near Prilep in 1980. I recorded Stenoecia dos in the Greek island of Lesbos.

Literature:
Wagner, W. (2020): Stenoecia dos (Freyer, [1838]) new to Greece and some observations on its preimaginal stages in Lesbos (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).- Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo, N. F. 41 (3/4): 181-183.