Mormo maura

Mormo maura
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Mormo
Species:	M. maura
Binomial name
	Mormo maura; (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
	Phalaena maura Linnaeus, 1758

Last updated January 13, 2023

Mormo maura, the old lady or black underwing, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. It is found in the Palearctic realm, from north-western Africa through all over southern Europe. It reaches its northern border in the west in northern Ireland and central Scotland, in central Europe, in northern Germany and Poland. In some Nordic countries, there are single finds. The other occurrence areas include Turkestan, Anatolia, the Middle East and Iraq. The name "old lady" refers to the fact that the wing pattern was said to resemble the shawls worn by elderly Victorian ladies.^[1]

Technical description and variation

The wingspan is 55–65 mm. The length of the forewings is 30–36 mm. Forewing dull fuscous blackish, the median area usually darker; the paler ground colour being really ochreous grey, thickly dusted with fuscous; subbasal line double, forming two series of groups of black scales across basal area; inner and outer lines double, filled in with pale, both oblique basewards below vein 1; median vein and its branches pale; subcostal space with five black blotches above median area; orbicular stigma large, oblique, pale with dark dusting; reniform dark with pale outline, widened outwards on both sides below; submarginal line pale preceded by a dark fuscous shade, angled outwards above and below middle; apical area above vein 6 pale grey; hindwing dull fuscous, with a straight pale band beyond middle, followed by a broad black striata, subterminal border, outwardly edged by a pale submarginal line; in the form striata Tutt the transverse lines as well as the median vein and veinlets are conspicuously pale.^[2]

Biology

The moth flies in one generation from mid-June to mid-September.

The larvae are pale ochreous, clouded with darker; dorsal and subdorsal lines whitish, irregular, with oblique pale darker-edged streaks between; spiracles reddish above a yellow line above the feet; on the 11th segment, there is a yellowish-white black-edged transverse stripe. The larvae feed on various herbaceous plants in the early stages ( Salix , Alnus , Rumex , Senecio , Taraxacum ) later it feeds on various deciduous trees and shrubs.^[3]

Notes

^ The flight season refers to Belgium and the Netherlands. This may vary in other parts of the range.

Habitat

It mostly lives near water, in river valleys, meadows, bogs, as well as in the shore areas of streams, ponds and lakes.

Related Research Articles

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 Gothic 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 distributed in temperate Eurasia, in the Palearctic realm, including Europe, Turkey, Iran, Caucasus, Armenia, Transcaucasia, Central Asia, Altai mountains, and west and central Siberia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnet companion</span> Species of moth

The burnet companion moth is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in most of the Palearctic realm, from Ireland in the west to Mongolia and Siberia in the east and south to the Mediterranean and North Africa.

The small angle shades is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout the Palearctic. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

The angle shades 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 distributed throughout Europe as far east as the Urals and also in the Azores, in Algeria, and in Asia Minor, Armenia, and Syria. It is strongly migratory.

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.

Mythimna l-album, the L-album wainscot, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae. It is distributed throughout Europe, but is also found in North Africa from Morocco to Tunisia and in the Levant, then east across the Palearctic to Central Asia. It is not found in the far north of the Arabian Peninsula. The limit in the north varies. It occurs on the northern edge of the range as a migrant. From southern England, then Denmark and southern Scandinavia, the north limit cuts across the Baltic Sea across the Baltic states then south of Moscow to the Urals.

The Treble Lines(Charanyca trigrammica) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found virtually throughout Europe.In addition, there are occurrences in Asia minor and the Caucasus.In the mountains it rises to altitudes of 1000 metres.

Hypena rostralis, the buttoned snout, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in Europe far into Scandinavia.Then through the Palearctic into Asia Minor, the Caucasus and east to Siberia. It is widespread at forest edges, forest clearings, shore areas, in gardens, park landscapes and cultivated land and rises in the mountains up to 1600 m.

The Latin(Callopistria juventina) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species is found across the Palearctic realm.

The Early Grey(Xylocampa areola) is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe and Morocco.

Allophyes oxyacanthae, the green-brindled crescent, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found in Europe.

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.

Lacanobia blenna, the stranger, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1824. It is found in southern Europe, east to Turkmenistan.

The lunar-spotted pinion is a moth of the family Noctuidae.

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.

Nycteola revayana, the oak nycteoline, is a moth of the family Nolidae. The species was first described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1772. It is found from Europe and east across the Palearctic to Japan and India.

The Beautiful Gothic(Leucochlaena oditis) is a Palearctic moth of the family Noctuidae, sub-family Cuculliinae. It is found in southern Europe and north Africa, with occasional finds on the southern coast of England.

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.

References

↑ Hargreaves, Brian; Chinery, Michael (1981). Collins Gem Guide: Butterflies and Moths. Collins. p. 191.
↑ Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde, Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914
↑ Robinson, Gaden S.; Ackery, Phillip R.; Kitching, Ian J.; Beccaloni, George W.; Hernández, Luis M. (2010). "Search the database - introduction and help". HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London.

External links

Kimber, Ian. "73.107 BF2300 Old Lady Mormo maura (Linnaeus, 1758)". UKMoths. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
Savela, Markku (19 May 2019). "Mormo maura (Linnaeus, 1758)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved 23 October 2019. Taxonomy.
Fauna Europaea
Lepiforum e.V.
De Vlinderstichting (in Dutch)

This Hadeninae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Hargreaves, Brian; Chinery, Michael (1981). Collins Gem Guide: Butterflies and Moths. Collins. p. 191.

[2] Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde, Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914

[3] Robinson, Gaden S.; Ackery, Phillip R.; Kitching, Ian J.; Beccaloni, George W.; Hernández, Luis M. (2010). "Search the database - introduction and help". HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London.

[1]

[2]

[3]