This moth was being chased by a sparrow until it flew under the garden bench and settled on the wall of my house. It's widespread throughout Africa, Southern Europe, the near and far East. Unfortunately it is an agricultural pest (see references below).

Mazor, M., Harel, M., Levsky, S., and Dunkelblum, E. 1991. Sex pheromone components of female Cornutiplusia circumflexa. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 60: 167-172.

Dunkelblum, E., Gothilf, S., Kehat, M. 1982a. Sex pheromones of Plusiinae in Israel. Les mediateurs chimiques agissant sur le comportement des insectes. Colloq. l'INRA. 271-276.

For more information on this insect's close and distant relatives, why not visit my check-list of Israeliinsects?