Zygaena purpuralis, the transparent burnet, is a moth of the family Zygaenidae. Description Zygaena purpuralis is a medium-sized moth with a wingspan reaching . Usually the forewings show three bright red longitudinal streaks quite variable in shape, with almost transparent greyish-bluish edges. Hindwings are more extensively or almost completely bright red. Head and thorax are black, while the abdomen is dark blue. Larvae are yellow, with some lines of small black spots. Technical description and variation (Seitz) Z. purpuralis Brunnich (= pilosellae Esp.; minos Fuessl.). In this species the hindmargin of the forewing (base included) is all black, while the red wedge-spots situated before it may be shaped entirely as in erythrus Hbn. An aberration with light yellow instead of red markings, already recorded by Ochsenheimer, has more lately been named by Ruhl ab. grossmanni (= lutescens Tutt). It is said to have been observed as a constant or at least prevalent form in certain very limited localities. In ab. obscura Tutt the entire wings, inclusive of the red colour, is darkened. — sareptensis Stgr.-Reb. [ now Zygaena minos ssp. sareptensis Rebel, 1901 ] is a large, somewhat paler, lighter red form from South Russia. — diaphana Stgr.[now Zygaena minos ssp. diaphana Staudinger, 1887 ] , from Tauria, has thinly scaled, strongly transparent wings, the central wedge-spot being distally strongly widened. — nubigena Led. [ subspecies ] is also a very thinly scaled form from the high mountains of Europe and Asia, having moreover (like many mountain-forms) a very shaggy body, like Zygaena exulans, with which it occurs occasionally together. — In the rather large form smirnovi Christ.[ now Zygaena minos ssp. smirnovi Christoph, 1884 ], from Turkestan, the distal wedge-spot is constricted before its dilated apex. — pluto O. (= pythia Hbn.) [synonym of Z.purpuralis] has a black apex to the hindwing and the central streak of forewing is entirely of even width, not in the least being dilated distally; in South Europe, as far north as Austria. — In polygalae Esp. [now Zygaena filipendulae ssp. polygalae Esper, 1783 ] the black interspaces between the red streaks have entirely disappeared the red being so extended (especially in females) that the forewing is only edged with black, differing from Zygaena rubicundus in the hindmargin of forewing being black (though sometimes only narrowly); in the South, especially Northern Italy. — In heringi Zell.[ synonym of purpuralis ], from North Germany, the