Melanchra persicariae
Linnaeus, 1761 · speciesAt a glance
Sources9 archives
Databases and archives Melanchra persicariae's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation6 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility133 706 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI69 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics65 specimens↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
The dot moth (Melanchra persicariae) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. It is a very distinctive species with very dark brown, almost black, forewings marked with a large white stigma from which the species gets its common name. The hindwings are grey with a dark band at the termen. The wingspan is 38–50 mm. It flies at night in July and August and is attracted to light, sugar and flowers. Larva
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Diet & foraging2
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Melanchra persicariae has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
Besides the big genome in the nucleus, cells carry a small, circular loop of DNA inside the cell's energy factories — the mitochondria. It is inherited almost only from the mother and is a leftover from ancient bacteria that moved into the cell. The mitochondrial markers above (ND*, COX, CYTB…) are read from exactly this loop. Outer ring = one strand, inner ring = the other.
The complete instruction manual Melanchra persicariae carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
Record type133 706 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions26 of 76 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| DanishLepidopterologicalSocietylocation not on record | 1 986 |
| Helsinki, FI | 669 |
| Zürich, CH | 281 |
| Bern, CH | 204 |
| Muzeum Górnośląskie w Bytomiulocation not on record | 177 |
| Museum Ludovicae Ulricae, Zoology Institute of the University of Uppsalalocation not on record | 138 |
| Zoological Museum of the University of Chittagong, Bangladeshlocation not on record | 128 |
| Salzburg, AT | 97 |
| Paro, BT | 82 |
| Dhaka, BD | 72 |
| Naturmuseum St. Gallenlocation not on record | 71 |
| Archäologie und Museum Baselland - Museum.BLlocation not on record | 65 |
| Geneva, CH | 65 |
| NHMOlocation not on record | 65 |
| Naturéum — Muséum cantonal des sciences naturelles, Lausanne, Département Zoologielocation not on record | 62 |
| Provincia di Livornolocation not on record | 61 |
| Frauenfeld, CH | 57 |
| Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record | 50 |
| Tartu, EE | 49 |
| Musee d'Histoire Naturallelocation not on record | 47 |
| Tallinn, EE | 42 |
| Museo civico di Storia naturale Giacomo Doria di Genova | Giacomo Doria Natural History Museum in Genoalocation not on record | 40 |
| Fribourg, CH | 39 |
| MZLUlocation not on record | 38 |
| Naturama Aargaulocation not on record | 34 |
| Sion, CH | 33 |
| NMOKlocation not on record | 33 |
| Winterthur, CH | 33 |
| Museum zu Allerheiligen Schaffhausenlocation not on record | 32 |
| Philadelphia, US | 32 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 31 |
| UMUlocation not on record | 31 |
| Podgorica, ME | 25 |
| ZMAAlocation not on record | 24 |
| Kuopio, FI | 24 |
| JP | 23 |
| Glarus, CH | 23 |
| Naturmuseum Oltenlocation not on record | 21 |
| Metsähallituslocation not on record | 21 |
| Universität Zürich, Naturhistorisches Museumlocation not on record | 19 |
| CBDClocation not on record | 17 |
| NTNU-VMlocation not on record | 17 |
| Nijmegen, NL | 16 |
| SFRAlocation not on record | 16 |
| Iwate Prefectural Museumlocation not on record | 16 |
| Uniwersytet Łódzkilocation not on record | 15 |
| Durban Natural Science Museumlocation not on record | 13 |
| KIRMlocation not on record | 13 |
| DABUHlocation not on record | 10 |
| John May Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 9 |
| ZSMlocation not on record | 7 |
| Musée de Saint-Imierlocation not on record | 6 |
| BioFokuslocation not on record | 4 |
| RERElocation not on record | 4 |
| Washington, US | 4 |
| RCMlocation not on record | 3 |
| KOMlocation not on record | 3 |
| EGBlocation not on record | 2 |
| Tomioka, JP | 2 |
| Auckland, NZ | 2 |
| neflocation not on record | 2 |
| Philosophical Societylocation not on record | 2 |
| NMBU:MINAlocation not on record | 2 |
| Rovaniemi, FI | 2 |
| HUNMlocation not on record | 1 |
| Toyota city nature sanctuarylocation not on record | 1 |
| Trondheim, NO | 1 |
| Shiojiri City Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 1 |
| European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT)location not on record | 1 |
| South Kensington, GB | 1 |
| Toyama, JP | 1 |
| National Institute of Biological Resourceslocation not on record | 1 |
| Bavarian State Collection of Zoologylocation not on record | 1 |
| Landesmuseum Kärntenlocation not on record | 1 |
| SBPlocation not on record | 1 |
| Hiwa Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 1 |
Where the DNA of Melanchra persicariae was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.