| Buff-tip | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Notodontidae |
| Genus: | Phalera |
| Species: | P. bucephala |
| Binomial name | |
| Phalera bucephala | |
The buff-tip (Phalera bucephala) is a moth of the family Notodontidae. It is found throughout Europe and in Asia to eastern Siberia. [1] The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
The moth is a fairly large, heavy-bodied species with a wingspan of 55–68 mm (2.2–2.7 in). The forewings are grey with a large prominent buff patch at the apex. As the thoracic hair is also buff, the moth resembles a broken twig when at rest. The hindwings are creamy white. Seitz - Head, collar and centre of thorax brownish yellow, patagia greyish white with a black-brown double basal edge, on the transverse crest 2 black-brown transverse lines, hind margin greyish white. Abdomen yellowish grey to yellowish brown. Forewing greyish brown, broadly white at the base and along the hind margin, with prediscal dark brown and black double band; at the apex a large oval yellow patch reaching down to vein 4, proximally bordered by a dark red-brown semicircle, and traversed below the apex by a broad dentate dull ochreous submarginal spot; the black postdiscal band semicircular in the costal half, parallel with the dark border of the apical patch, and then dentate, accompanied on the outer side by a dark brown line; discal spot whitish; the scaling with a strong silky gloss, excepting the apical patch. Hindwing whitish grey, with a very slight indication of a dark median band. On the underside both wings have a prominent black-brown discal band, forewing moreover with a black-browia marginal line. Throughout Europe with the exception of the Arctic Region and Greece; also in North-East Africa, Asia Minor,Siberia to East Asia. In Central Europe abundant everywhere in May and June, a second brood in July and August appears regularly only in the South. — In Norway and Southern Sweden, also in England occurs a dark form, tenebrata Strand, [subspecies P. b. tenebrata Strand, 1903] in which the white colouring of the forewing is more or less strongly reduced, particularly in the median area, while the hindwing is paler or darker grey. In ab. demaculata Strand (47 d) [aberration] the pale discal spot of the forewing moreover is absent. — bucephalina Stgr.,[ now species Phalera bucephalina (Staudinger & Rebel, 1901)] which represents the species in Western Morocco, is also characterised by a darker colouring of the ground. In addition, the discal spot is more prominent and the apical patch larger, in which characters this form approaches the next species, bucephaloides . — In the East-Asiatic infulgens Graes. (47 d)[now subspecies P. b. infulgens Graeser, 1888] , which is common in the Amur and Ussuri districts, the whole forewing is uniformly whitish grey without gloss, the anterior half being hardly darker than the hind margin; thehindwing is somewhat narrower. — Egg strongly, convex green with darker top and paler base. Larva orange yellow, with glossy black head and yellowish grey hair, as well as black longitudinal stripes interrupted bet- ween the segments, 5 stripes dorsally and 2 laterally, between the latter pair the black spiracles are placed.Underside black with broad yellow median stripe, abdominal legs black outside and yellow inside. June to October, on Salix, Poplar, Birch, Lime and Oak. Pupa glossy black-brown, sometimes hibernating twice. [2]
The moth flies at night in June and July [a] and sometimes comes to light, although it is not generally strongly attracted.
The young larvae are gregarious, becoming solitary later. The older larva is very striking, black with white and yellow lines. It feeds on many trees and shrubs (see list below). The species overwinters as a pupa.
Historically, the buff-tip moth has been referred to as a pest due to their tendency to feast upon apple trees in Lithuania during the 1900s. Outbreaks of this species may increase in areas with high levels of environmental nitrogen compounds. [3] [4]
For details see Robinson et al., 2010. [5]
The mottled beauty is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
The coxcomb prominent is a moth of the family Notodontidae. It is a common species throughout the Palearctic realm from Ireland to Japan. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
The common footman is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Johann Leopold Theodor Friedrich Zincken in 1817. It is distributed throughout Europe and east through the Palearctic to Lake Baikal.
Apamea crenata, known as the clouded-bordered brindle, is a moth in the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout the Palearctic realm. In the North it crosses the Arctic Circle, in the Mediterranean it is found only in cool locations and mountains avoiding very hot areas. In the Alps, it rises to an altitude of about 2000 metres.
The black arches or nun moth is a small Palaearctic moth. It is considered a forest pest.
Cerura vinula, the puss moth, is a lepidopteran from the family Notodontidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Pheosia tremula, the swallow prominent, is a moth from the family Notodontidae. The species was first described by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1759.
Plemyria rubiginata, the blue-bordered carpet, is a moth of the family Geometridae found in Europe and across the Palearctic. The moth was first described by the Austrian lepidopterists Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775.
Atethmia centrago, the centre-barred sallow, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1809. It is found in Europe except Scandinavia and Italy; also in Asia Minor, Armenia, Syria and Palestine.
Katha depressa, the buff footman, is a moth of the family Erebidae found in Asia and Europe. It was first described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1787.
Deilephila porcellus, the small elephant hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Drymonia ruficornis, the lunar marbled brown, is a moth of the family Notodontidae. It is found in Central and Southern Europe and Anatolia.
Notodonta ziczac, the pebble prominent, is a moth of the family Notodontidae. It is found in Europe ranging to Central Asia.
Calliteara pudibunda, the pale tussock, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The Dutch common name for the moth (Meriansborstel) comes from the butterfly and insect painter Maria Sibylla Merian. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found in Asia and Europe.
Odontosia carmelita, the scarce prominent, is a moth of the family Notodontidae. The species was first described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1798. It is found in central Europe, ranging to Ireland and Finland in the north and Russia in the east.
Clostera pigra, the small chocolate-tip, is a moth of the family Notodontidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is a Palearctic species found from Europe ranging to Morocco in the south and eastern Asia in the east.
Grammodes stolida, the geometrician, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It is found in Africa, southern Europe, most of Asia and Australia. It migrates to central and northern Europe as far north as England, Denmark and Finland.
Stauropus alternus, the lobster caterpillar, lobster moth or crab caterpillar, is a moth of the family Notodontidae. It is found in the north-eastern Himalaya, Sri Lanka, Sundaland, the Philippines, Sulawesi and the southern Moluccas. It was described by Francis Walker in 1855.
Colostygia multistrigaria, the mottled grey, is a species of moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in western and south-western Europe and North Africa. The habitat is damp woodlands, heaths, and mosses.
Exaeretia hildaella is a moth in the family Depressariidae. It was described by John Frederick Gates Clarke in 1941. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
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