| Hadena caesia | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Noctuidae |
| Genus: | Hadena |
| Species: | H. caesia |
| Binomial name | |
| Hadena caesia (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Hadena caesia, also called the grey, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It has a scattered distribution all over Europe (see subspecies section).
The wingspan is 32–37 millimetres (1.3–1.5 in). Forewing blue grey, with a furry look, caused by dusky grey irroration; both folds tinged with fulvous; lines and markings often indistinct; upper stigmata pale, with yellow scales in their annuli; a dark antemedian band widened to inner margin and a less prominent dark submarginal cloud; a small dark blotch at middle of costa; hindwing dark fuscous, paler towards base; — manani Gregs. from the Isle of Man and the Irish coast, is uniformly darker slate colour; — ab. nigrescens Stgr., from the Pyrenees, Alps, and Mts. of Scandinavia is much darker, the forewing suffused with black; on the other hand [now full species Hadena clara ] Stgr., from Armenia and Asia Minor, has the forewing greyer, with a pinkish tinge; the median area paler. [1]
Adults are on wing from June to August. [2]
Larva brownish ochreous, freckled with darker; a dorsal series of V-shaped marks; subdorsal line darker. The young larvae feed on capsules of various Silene species (including Silene nutans and Silene vulgaris ). [3] Later, they feed on the leaves. They overwinter as a pupa.
