Lunar yellow underwing | |
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Mounted male and female | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
Family: | Noctuidae |
Genus: | Noctua |
Species: | N. orbona |
Binomial name | |
Noctua orbona Hufnagel, 1766 | |
Noctua orbona, the lunar yellow underwing, is a moth of the family Noctuoidea. It is found in the Palearctic.
North Africa (Morocco and Libya), western, central and southern Europe. In the north to Scotland, southern Norway, central Sweden and southern Finland. From the Baltic states across through Russia to the Urals. In Asia, the southern records extend from Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and questionably to Iran, Afghanistan and northern India. The distribution area in the East Palearctic includes Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
The wingspan is 38–45 mm. Forewings with weakly pronounced lines, the colour is leather yellowish brown to reddish brown, often obscured at the margin. It resembles Noctua comes but has a constant and characteristic ink black spot on the costa near the apex of the forewing. In the overall impression a broad-winged species. Central European populations on average smaller than Noctua comes.
The moth flies from June to September depending on the location.
The hemispherical egg has a flattened base. It is initially whitish and turns orange shortly before the hatching of the larva. The surface is ribbed.
The colouration of the caterpillar varies from ochre yellow to brown-grey. It has three whitish dorsal lines. Between the dorsal lines, a black, elongated spot is developed on each segment. The caterpillar is lighter coloured on the sides with a wide reddish grey lateral stripe. A black, yellow-lined spot is present on the after shield. The brownish head has a fine mesh pattern and two dark arc stripes. The pronotum is also brownish and shows three bright longitudinal lines. The pupa is glossy brown to brown-red.
The larvae feed on various herbaceous plants and grasses.
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The lesser yellow underwing is a moth of the family Noctuidae.
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Mesoleuca albicillata, the beautiful carpet, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in the Palearctic.
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The brown rustic is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe. then East across the Palearctic to the Sayan Mountains in Central Asia.
Hydrelia sylvata, the waved carpet, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the temperate parts of the Palearctic realm.
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Carsia sororiata, the Manchester treble-bar, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1813. It is found in northern and central Europe, the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, northern Mongolia and in North America from Alaska to Newfoundland and to New Hampshire.