Achlya flavicornis

Last updated

Achlya flavicornis
Achlya flavicornis01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Drepanidae
Genus: Achyla
Species:
A. flavicornis
Binomial name
Achlya flavicornis
Synonyms
  • Phalaena flavicornisLinnaeus, 1758
  • Phalaena cinereaHufnagel, 1766
  • Phalaena (Noctua) sulphureomaculataRetzius, 1783
  • Noctua luteicornisHaworth, 1810
  • Asphalia finmarchicaSchöyen, 1881
  • Polyploca flavicornis lapponicaRangnow, 1935
  • Polyploca flavicornis meridionalisWolfsberger, 1968
  • Asphalia galbanusTutt, 1891

Achlya flavicornis, the yellow horned, is a moth of the family Drepanidae. [1] The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found from Europe to the eastern Palearctic ecozone.

Contents

Larva Achlya flavicornis larva.jpg
Larva
Birch woodland habitat Barbey-Seroux-Bouleaux.jpg
Birch woodland habitat

The wingspan is 35–40 mm. The length of the forewings is 17–20 mm. The ground colour is greenish grey, sometimes speckled or dusted with darker grey. The reniform and orbicular marks are generally clear and distinct, but in some examples they are united and form a whitish blotch outlined in blackish; the cross lines are usually well defined, but in the dark grey dusted form are very obscure. The moth flies from February to April depending on the location.

The final instar larva is either off white all over or off white below the spiracles and darker greyish or olive green dorsally. There is a row of black spots and finely black-edged white dots. The insect overwinters as a pupa in a cocoon, amongst leaf litter.

The larvae feed on birch.

Subspecies

References

  1. "Yellow Horned Achlya flavicornis". UKMoths. Archived from the original on 2014-09-10. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  2. Tshistjakov, B.A., 2008 Far Eastern species of the genus Achlya Billberg, 1820 (Lepidoptera,. Drepanidae: Thyatirinae) with notes on their synonymy Far Eastern Entomologist. N 180. P. 1-10. pdf Archived October 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine