| Lesser yellow underwing | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Noctuidae |
| Genus: | Noctua |
| Species: | N. comes |
| Binomial name | |
| Noctua comes Hübner, 1813 | |
The lesser yellow underwing (Noctua comes) is a moth of the family Noctuidae.
It is found in the Palearctic realm (Europe, North Africa, Canary Islands, Middle East, South Russia, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, north-west India, Novosibirsk, Central Asia, and in Denver (Colorado) ). It was introduced into British Columbia in about 1982 and has spread southward in the Pacific Northwest. It has recently been reported from Ontario (Crolla 2008). Full synonymy given in Lafontaine. [1] It is a common species but not as abundant as its larger relative large yellow underwing (Noctua pronuba).
This species generally has the appearance of a smaller (wingspan 38–48 mm) version of the large yellow underwing Noctua pronuba . The forewings are equally variable in pattern and colour, from pale clay to reddish clay, light brown to almost black. The stigmata are dark and outlined with pale yellow. The crosslines are weak. The wavy line flows on to the front edge as a no more than dark brown (never black) stain, which is sometimes extended down the entire wavy line. The hindwings are orange-yellow with a broad black sub-terminal band and central discal lunule (usually absent in Noctua pronuba). It is also similar to the lunar yellow underwing Noctua orbona . In the overall impression a broad-winged species.
It flies at night from July to September and is attracted to light and flowers such as heather, marram grass, and ragwort.
The larva is also very similar to that of Noctua pronuba – green or brown with black dashes along the back. Its feeding habits, however, are very different: this is not a "cutworm" but feeds on the foliage of a range of plants, trees, and shrubs as well as herbaceous plants (see list below). This species overwinters as a larva.
See Robinson, G. S. et al. [2]
The scalloped oak is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
The garden dart is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout much of the Palearctic. Temperate regions of Europe, Central Asia and North Asia, as well as the mountains of North Africa. Absent from polar regions, on Iceland and some Mediterranean islands, as well as in Macaronesia.
The large yellow underwing is a moth, the type species for the family Noctuidae. It is an abundant species throughout the Palearctic realm, one of the most common and most familiar moths of the region. In some years the species is highly migratory with large numbers appearing suddenly in marginal parts of the range.
The lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing or Langmaid's yellow underwing is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout southern and central Europe, and southern Sweden.
The autumnal rustic is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1788. It was previously placed in the genus Paradiarsia. It is found in northern and western Europe and North Africa.
The ingrailed clay is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It is distributed through most of Europe and the Palearctic.
The setaceous Hebrew character 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 the Palearctic realm. It is a common species throughout Europe and North Asia and Central Asia, South Asia, China, Japan and Korea. It is also found in North America, from coast to coast across Canada and the northern United States to western Alaska. It occurs in the Rocky Mountains from Montana to southern Arizona and New Mexico. In the east, it ranges from Maine to North Carolina. It has recently been recorded in Tennessee.
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 nutmeg, also known as the clover cutworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae.
The dot moth is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. It is a very distinctive species with very dark brown, almost black, forewings marked with a large white stigma from which the species gets its common name. The hindwings are grey with a dark band at the termen. The wingspan is 38–50 mm. It flies at night in July and August and is attracted to light, sugar and flowers.
The Hebrew character is a moth in the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found throughout Europe.
The copper underwing, humped green fruitworm or pyramidal green fruitworm is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
The straw underwing is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found from North Africa west through South Europe and Central Europe. In the north it is in parts of Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Estonia. Further east the range stretches from southern Russia and Asia minor to the Caucasus.
Catocala is a generally Holarctic genus of moths in the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Franz von Paula Schrank in 1802. The moths are commonly known as underwing moths or simply underwings. These terms are sometimes used for a few related moths, but usually – especially when used in plural, not as part of a species name – they are used to refer to Catocala only.
Noctua janthe, the lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing, is a moth of the family Noctuoidea. Some authors consider Noctua janthe and Noctua janthina to be the same species. It is found in Europe and North Africa.
Noctua interjecta, the least yellow underwing, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe.
Noctua fimbriata, the broad-bordered yellow underwing, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, the Caucasus, Turkey, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkmenistan and Novosibirsk Oblast. The border of its southern range is unclear because of the similar looking species Noctua tirrenica.
Noctua orbona, the lunar yellow underwing, is a moth of the family Noctuoidea. It is found in the Palearctic.