---
title: "Mother of Pearl"
description: "Patania ruralis — Insetti e ragni. Patania ruralis, the mother of pearl moth, is a species of moth in the grass moth family Crambidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/mother-of-pearl
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Mother of Pearl

> Patania ruralis — Insetti e ragni. Patania ruralis, the mother of pearl moth,  is a species of moth in the grass moth family Crambidae.

- Scientific name: *Patania ruralis*
- Category: `insects` (Insetti e ragni)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 20928
- Wikidata: [Q135466299](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q135466299)
- iNaturalist taxon: [560710](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/560710)

## Names

- en: Mother of Pearl
- de: Blasser Nesselzünsler
- fr: Pyrale du houblon
- nl: Parelmoermot
- pt: Pleuroptya ruralis
- pl: Boczanka brązowianka

## Countries with the most observations

GB (4460), RU (2950), DE (2519), AT (1391), FR (1340), PL (775), ES (720), FI (647), IT (512), CH (477), DK (409), UA (336)

## Summary

Patania ruralis, the mother of pearl moth,  is a species of moth in the grass moth family Crambidae. It was described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1763. Its common name refers to its almost transparent wings which in oblique lighting show a pale blue pearlescent sheen. This is found in Europe, occurring almost across the continent and the nearshore islands, except for those in the Aegean and Western Mediterranean as well as Cyprus. The adults are on the wing from June to September depending on the location. The caterpillars eat mainly Urtica nettles; occasionally they are found on other eudicots.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patania_ruralis

## Photo

![Mother of Pearl](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/mother-of-pearl/medium.jpg)

Photo: Matthew Wilkinson · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/236680427

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/mother-of-pearl?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).