Hecatera dysodea | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
Family: | Noctuidae |
Genus: | Hecatera |
Species: | H. dysodea |
Binomial name | |
Hecatera dysodea (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) | |
Synonyms | |
|
Hecatera dysodea, the small ranunculus, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe, primarily in Central Europe and Southern Europe The northern boundary of the distribution is from the Baltic Sea and the southern part of Lithuania, Belarus, south of Moscow to the Urals. North Africa forms the distribution border in the south (from Algeria and Morocco) east they extend to the Middle East, Turkestan and across the Palearctic to Central Asia. It is an introduced species in North America, where it was first found in Utah in 1998 and Oregon in 2005.
The wingspan is 32–34 mm. The length of the forewings is 14–15 mm. Meyrick describes it thus - Forewings whitish irrorated with grey, median area suffused with grey and partly mixed with orange; subbasal line whitish, edged anteriorly with black mixed with orange; first and second lines whitish, edged internally with blackish; spots outlined with black mixed with orange; subterminal line formed of orange spots, preceded by some black scales. Hindwings pale grey, with darker posterior suffusion. Larva pale dull green, or yellowish freckled with brown; dorsal line pale, dark-edged; lateral dark, indistinct; spiracles black; head ochreous-brown or dull greenish. [1] Seitz - P. spinaciae Hew. (= dysodea Schiff, flavicincta-minor Esp., chrysozona Bkh., ornata Vill, ranunculina Haw., dysodea of Plate 17). Forewing pale- or greenish-grey, dusted with dark grey; median area darker; all the lines and markings picked out with orange scales; claviform stigma dark; the upper two grey; hindwing dull grey in male, dark grey in female, with broad dark border, the veins and cellspot dark; caduca H-Sch. (17 ¢) is a pale grey form with very little yellow scaling: in innocens Stg. (17g) the median area is blacker, and the inner and outer, by comparison, paler, the yellow scaling slight; koechlini Th.-Mg. (= turbida Hofm.) is a darker form with the orange markings strongly developed. Throughout Europe: in Asia Minor, Persia, Syria, Kashmir, Turkestan, and China. — Larva yellow green, freckled with brown; dorsal line pale, darkedged. [2]
The moths are found mainly on the edge or in localities. They prefer dry ruderal areas, brownfields, roadsides, embankments, gardens and parks. In the Alps they rise up to 1400 m. They fly in one generation from May to mid August. . Their cocoons typically hatch during the month of June when the humidity levels increase
The larvae feed on flowers and seeds of Asteraceae species, especially Lactuca species.
There are two recognised subspecies:
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.
The square-spot rustic is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe, North Africa and east across the Palearctic and in North America.
The broad-barred white is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is distributed throughout Europe and is also found in Turkey, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Kirghizia, Tajikistan, western Siberia and China.
Apamea monoglypha, the dark arches, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is a common, sometimes abundant, European species. It is found in most of Europe except northernmost Fennoscandia and the southern parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Greece. The species is also found in Anatolia, Turkestan, Western Asia and Central Asia, Siberia and Mongolia. In the Alps it is found up to heights of 2,500 meters. The smaller subspecies sardoa is found on Sardinia and Corsica.
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.
Apamea sordens, the rustic shoulder-knot or bordered apamea, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is distributed throughout Europe, east across the Palearctic to Central Asia and to China and Japan. It also occurs in North America.
Apamea ophiogramma, the double lobed, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm in North and Central Europe to the Urals, Turkestan, Russian Far East, and Siberia. There have been at least two separate introductions into North America and it is now rapidly expanding in range. This species is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Lateroligia.
The large ranunculus is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe and North Africa.
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.
Hada plebeja, the shears, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe and across the Palearctic to Asia Minor, Armenia, Turkestan, Central Asia, Mongolia, Siberia, as well as Kashmir.
Fissipunctia ypsillon, the dingy shears, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm.
Tiliacea citrago, the orange sallow, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe as far east as the Caucasus Mountains and the Urals.
Synthymia is a genus of moths of the family Noctuidae. It contains only one species, Synthymia fixa, The Goldwing, which is found in southern Europe and North Africa.
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.
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.
Agrochola litura, the brown-spot pinion, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. It is found in Europe and the Middle East. It is possibly also present in North Africa, but this is unclear because similar looking species Agrochola meridionalis is found there.
Agrochola helvola, the flounced chestnut, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. The species is found in most of Europe, north to Scotland and Fennoscandia up to the Arctic Circle, south to Spain, Sicily, Greece further east to the Middle East, Armenia, Asia Minor, western Turkestan and central Asia up to central Siberia.
Apamea oblonga, the crescent striped, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1809. It is found in northern and central Europe, east to southern Russia, Asia Minor, Armenia, Turkestan, Turkey, Iran, southern Siberia, northern Pakistan, Mongolia, China, Sakhalin and Japan
The Scarce Arches is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in central and eastern Europe and in southern Scandinavia. north Germany, Russia including the Ural Mountains, west and east Turkestan. It is not known to breed in Britain, occurring only as a migrant.