| Blue underwing | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Erebidae |
| Genus: | Catocala |
| Species: | C. fraxini |
| Binomial name | |
| Catocala fraxini | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Catocala fraxini, the blue underwing or Clifden nonpareil, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. [1]
The distribution area covers almost the entire central and northern Europe, as well as parts of southern Europe. The species is largely missing in Portugal, the Mediterranean islands (except Corsica), in Greece, in northern Scotland, in northern Scandinavia and north and in southern Russia. The distribution area stretches across the Palearctic to northern Turkey, Siberia, Russian Far East, Korea and Japan.
The name "Clifden nonpareil" is derived from the location of the first British records, at the Cliveden estate in Berkshire in the 18th-century, [2] "nonpareil" meaning "without equal" in French. The moth became extinct as a breeding species in Great Britain by the 1960s with post-war changes to forestry, such as when for example, the larval foodplants aspen and poplar were cleared in Orlestone Forest, Kent to make way for conifers. For decades it was a rare migrant from Europe with just single sightings recorded in some years. Larvae have since been found in Sussex and sightings in 2018 suggest it has spread to the Midlands and Wales. [3]
Forewing whitish ochreous, irrorated with pale or dark grey, sometimes with a yellow tinge; inner and outer lines blackish, dentate, double; median and subterminal lines blackish, dentate; reniform stigma with black centre and outline; beneath it a pale yellowish diamond-shaped spot outlined with moerens. dark; hindwing blackish, with a broad blue postmedian band. — ab. moerens Fuchs has the forewing more or less strongly suffused throughout with blackish grey, obscuring the markings; — the form gaudens Stgr. on the other hand, from Central Asia, is very pale, with most of the black scaling obsolete; in the ab. contigua Schultz the pale spot below the reniform stigma is elongated outwards to touch the outer line, often, as well as the outer line itself, strongly yellow-tinged, especially noticeable in examples with the ground colour dark; -angustata Schultz is distinguished by the narrowness of the blue band of the hindwing; — the ab. maculata Kusenov shows a white mark at the lower angle of cell of hindwing. Schultz also records an instance of albinism in the forewings, where the grey scales throughout have become white, and the black lines brownish yellow, the hindwings remaining unaltered. [4]
Larva brownish grey, black speckled, with pointed prominences on segments 9 and 12. The caterpillars feed on various species of poplar (Populus species).
The red underwing is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae.
Agrochola circellaris, the brick, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is distributed throughout most of Europe, Asia Minor and Armenia.
The herald is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found throughout the Palearctic and Nearctic (Holarctic).
Mythimna albipuncta, the white-point, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is distributed throughout Europe and one subspecies is found in Tunisia. It is also found in Asia Minor, Armenia, and Iran, and the northeastern United States.
Luperina testacea, the flounced rustic, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe, Asia Minor and Armenia.
Fissipunctia ypsillon, the dingy shears, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm.
Catocala sponsa, the dark crimson underwing, is a species of moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in Europe, North Africa and from Anatolia up to the Caucasus.
Anaplectoides prasina is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in both the Palearctic and Nearctic realms.
Helotropha leucostigma, the crescent, formerly Celaena leucostigma is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm.
Xanthia gilvago, the dusky-lemon sallow, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found in Europe.
Catocala electa, the rosy underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Karl Friedrich Vieweg in 1790. It can be found in Europe and Asia.
Catocala promissa, the light crimson underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It can be found in Europe and Anatolia up to Armenia.
Lacanobia contigua, the beautiful brocade, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found throughout temperate regions of the Palearctic realm, from Ireland east to Siberia and Japan.
Catocala nymphagoga, the oak yellow underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in Southern Europe, from Bulgaria up to the Iberian Peninsula and sometimes further north as a migrant. It is also found in North Africa and Asia Minor.
Mesapamea secalis, the common rustic, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found in Europe, north-west Africa, Turkey and northern Iran.
Lygephila craccae, the scarce blackneck, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to the Altai Mountains, Korea, Japan and China.
Agrotis trux, the crescent dart, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1824. It has a circum-Mediterranean distribution and is found along the coasts of France, Ireland, England, southern Europe, Algeria, Syria, Iraq, Iran, southern Russia and the Arabian Peninsula. In Africa, it is found as far south as South Africa.
Cucullia artemisiae, or scarce wormwood, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found from central and southern Europe to Turkey and across the Palearctic to western Siberia, Central Asia, Manchuria, the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
Lithomoia solidaginis, the golden-rod brindle, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1803. It is found in most of Europe, except the Iberian Peninsula, Ireland, Iceland and the western and southern part of the Balkan Peninsula.Then eastwards to the Urals, Kamchatka and Japan.In the Alps it rises to about 1500 meters. It is found mainly on marshy ground, in humid mixed forests as well as in tundra - and taiga areas.
Egira conspicillaris, the silver cloud, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found from the Iberian Peninsula to Russia. In the north it ranges to the Baltic Region and in the south to North Africa. It is also present in Western Asia, up to the Caspian Sea.
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