Amphipoea oculea

Last updated

Ear moth
Amphipoea oculea - Keila.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Amphipoea
Species:
A. oculea
Binomial name
Amphipoea oculea
(Linnaeus, 1761)
Synonyms [1]
List
    • Phalaena Noctua oculeaLinnaeus, 1761
    • Phalaena Noctua nictitansLinnaeus, 1761
    • Noctua chrysographaDenis & Schiffermüller, 1775
    • Phalaena Noctua splendensBorkhausen, 1792
    • Noctua myopaFabricius, 1794
    • Noctua cineragoFabricius, 1794
    • Noctua auriculaDonovan, 1807
    • Noctua erythrostigmaHaworth, 1809
    • Apamea oculea var. struveiOberthür, 1818

Amphipoea oculea, the ear moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761 and it is found in most of the Palearctic realm.[ citation needed ] It is widespread and common in southern England, and also occurs in Ireland and throughout continental Europe, with the exception of Albania, Greece and Turkey. [2] It is one of four species that are difficult to tell apart, requiring the examination of the genitalia. The larvae feed in the stems and roots of low plants and grasses.

Contents

Mounted Amphipoea oculea.jpg
Mounted

Description

The wingspan is 29–34 mm. Forewing pale or dark ferruginous brown; the veins brown; inner and outer lines double, brown, wide apart; the inner curved outwards between, and toothed inwards on, the veins; the outer with the inner arm thin, lunulate-dentate, the outer thick, continuous and parallel; a thick dark median shade running between the stigmata; submarginal line indistinct, waved, angled on vein 7, above which it is preceded by a dark costal patch; orbicular stigma rounded, orange, with a brown ring; reniform white, with the veins across it brown and containing on the discocellular a brown-outlined lunule, of which the centre is yellowish; the colour with brown outline; hindwing fuscous grey, paler towards base; the fringe rufous tinged. [3]

Adults are found from June to September depending on the location. There is one generation per year. At night the moths come to light and to flowers, honeydew and sugar. During the day it feeds at the flowers of thistles and ragwort. [4] [5]

Habitat, Ireland FloraHildena (19).JPG
Habitat, Ireland
Figs 2 young larva 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d larva after last moult Buckler W The larvae of the British butterflies and moths PlateLXII.jpg
Figs 2 young larva 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d larva after last moult

The larvae feed, from April to June, on the stems and roots of various grasses and low plants, including butterbur ( Petasites hybridus ) and tufted hair-grass ( Deschampsia cespitosa ); preferring damp habitats. [4] [6]

Similar species

Requiring genitalic examination to separate. See Townsend et al. [7]

Taxonomy

Carl Linnaeus, when describing the moth, placed it in the genus Phalaena , from a specimen found in Sweden. Phalaena is now an obsolete genus which was used by Linnaeus to house most of the moths. The moth is now placed in the genus Amphipoea which was raised by the Swedish anatomist Gustaf Johan Billberg in 1820. Amphipoea refers to Amphi – round and poa – grass; i.e. the habitat. The specific name, oculea, means eyed, from the reniform stigma, which British entomologists referred to as an 'ear'. [8]

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<i>Amphipoea fucosa</i> Species of moth

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<i>Xanthia togata</i> Species of moth

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<i>Catephia alchymista</i> Species of moth

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<i>Micropterix calthella</i> Moth species in family Micropterigidae

Micropterix calthella, the marsh marigold moth, is a species of moth belonging to the family Micropterigidae. It is found in damp habitats throughout Europe and is also distributed eastwards to central Siberia. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761 as Phalaena calthella.

<i>Mesapamea secalis</i> Species of moth

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<i>Cucullia absinthii</i> Species of moth

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<i>Amphipoea lucens</i> Species of moth

Amphipoea lucens, the large ear or large ear moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae and is found in most of Europe. It was first described, in 1845, by the German entomologist, Christian Friedrich Freyer, from a specimen, found in Berlin. The larvae feed on the roots and stems of grasses.

<i>Actinotia polyodon</i> Species of moth

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<i>Amphipoea crinanensis</i> Species of moth

Amphipoea crinanensis, also known as the Crinan ear, is a moth of the family Noctuidae, found in Europe. It is one of four species that are difficult to tell apart, requiring the examination of the genitalia. The species was described by Charles Richard Nelson Burrows in 1908.

<i>Apamea furva</i> Species of moth

Apamea furva, the confused, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found throughout Europe. In southwestern Europe it is primarily montane. It is found as far north as the Arctic Circle. From Europe its range extends to Siberia, Turkey, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Xinjiang in China.

Stigmella sorbi is a moth of the family Nepticulidae, described by Henry Tibbats Stainton in 1861. It is found in most of Europe, east to the eastern part of the Palearctic realm.

<i>Griposia aprilina</i> Species of moth

Griposia aprilina, also known as the merveille du jour, is a moth of the family Noctuidae, found in Asia and Europe. The species was first described by the Swedish taxonomist, Carl Linnaeus in his 1758, 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

References

  1. ↑ "Amphipoea oculea (Linnaeus, 1761)". Fauna Europaea. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  2. ↑ Ken G.M. Bond; Tom Gittings (2008). Irish Wildlife Manuals https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311576145 . Retrieved 9 December 2024.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde, Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914
  4. 1 2 Kimber, Ian. "Ear Moth Amphipoea oculea (Linnaeus, 1761)". UKmoths. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  5. ↑ Goater, Barry (1983). Heath, John; Emmet, A Maitland (eds.). Amphipyrinae. In The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 10. Colchester: Harley Books. pp. 238–40. ISBN   0-946589-01-1.
  6. ↑ Robinson, Gaden S.; Ackery, Phillip R.; Kitching, Ian J.; Beccaloni, George W.; Hernández, Luis M. (2023). "Search the database - introduction and help". HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London. doi:10.5519/havt50xw.
  7. ↑ Martin C. Townsend, Jon Clifton and Brian Goodey (2010). British and Irish Moths: An Illustrated Guide to Selected Difficult Species. (covering the use of genitalia characters and other features) Butterfly Conservation.
  8. ↑ Emmet, A Maitland (1991). The Scientific Names of the British Lepidoptera. Their History and Meaning. Colchester: Harley Books. p. 213 & 216. ISBN   0-946589-28-3.
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