Eilema caniola

Eilema caniola, the hoary footman, is a moth of the family Erebidae. This species can be found in North Africa, in western and southern Europe, in Eastern Europe up to South-western Russia, in the Near East, in the East Palearctic ecozone and in the Oriental ecozone. These thermophilic moths usually occur in urban areas and as a caterpillar on old walls, roofs, shingle beaches and rocky areas. The wingspan is 28–35 mm. Almost the same in colouring as Eilema griseola and Eilema lurideola but the forewings are much smaller, the outer margin is oblique, only slightly excurved; the colour is much lighter, more yellowish grey, so that the pale yellow costal stripe is less prominent. Hindwings are very pale, scarcely darker at the costal margin, with the apex much more pointed than in the two species mentioned, with which it might be confounded. It is at once distinguished from Eilema complanum by the underside of the forewing, on which the pale grey colour extends to the margin, the latter not being broadly yellow as in complanum. - ab. vitellina Bdv. is a form with the forewing dusted with grey close to the distal margin and of a pale bright yellow ground colour in the male - ab. albeola Hbn. is considerably smaller, and, except for the bright yellow thorax, entirely white on the upperside; it occurs among ordinary specimens.