| Sandhill rustic | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Noctuidae |
| Genus: | Luperina |
| Species: | L. nickerlii |
| Binomial name | |
| Luperina nickerlii (Freyer, 1845) | |
The sandhill rustic (Luperina nickerlii) is a noctuid moth found in various parts of western, southern and central Europe with several subspecies. The species was first described by Christian Friedrich Freyer in 1845.
It is like Luperina testacea , but olive grey, without any rufous tinge; inner and outer lines conversely edged with whitish; a blackish shade before inner line from median vein to inner margin, interrupted at vein 1; claviform stigma broadly blackish; orbicular a minute white spot; reniform subquadrate, with fuscous centre and broad white annulus, the area beyond it blackish, submarginal line whiter, preceded, except between veins 6 and 7, by a blackish shade; a row of neat black marginal lunules; fringe dark grey pencilled with light grey; hindwing pure white, with dark marginal lunules and white fringe; the veins dark. [1] Certain separation requires examination of the genitalia.
In Britain, it flies in one generation between late July and late September and is represented by three subspecies: [2]
Found in coastal sandhills in North Wales and Lancashire
Subspecies leechi, is found on Loe Bar, Cornwall, the shingle beach which separates Loe Pool from the sea. Two pupae, found in the sand, by Barry Goater and Michael Leech in September 1974 was the first sign of this previously unknown subspecies. [3] The female moth is reluctant to fly and rarely appears at light; behaviour that has presumably evolved as an adaptation to its windswept habitat. With only one known population ssp. leechi is a Biodiversity Action Plan species, is listed in the Red Data Book and a species account is given in the Cornish RDB. [4]
The larvae feed on the stem and roots of sand couch (Elytrigia juncea) from September to the following July. [5] [6]
In Ireland, the sandhill rustic is represented by the subspecies knilli, which occurs only in County Kerry.
The shoulder-striped wainscot is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. Some authors place it in the genus Mythimna. It is found throughout Europe and in Russia to the west of the Urals.
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.
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 remissa, the dusky brocade, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout Europe and Turkey, ranging across the Palearctic realm to Siberia, Manchuria and Japan. It has also been reported from Alaska.
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.
Orthosia incerta, the clouded drab, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae, found in Europe and Asia. The occurrence of the species extends through all European countries through the Palearctic to the Russian Far East and Japan. It is absent from northern Fennoscandia and in the Alps it occurs up to 2000 m above sea level.
Luperina testacea, the flounced rustic, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe, Asia Minor and Armenia.
Caradrina kadenii, or Clancy's rustic, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Christian Friedrich Freyer in 1836. It originates from southern and central Europe, Asia Minor and southern Russia but in the 21st century it has extended its range to the north.
The Early Grey(Xylocampa areola) is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe and Morocco.
Catocala electa, the rosy underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Karl Friedrich Vieweg in 1790. It can be found in Europe and Asia.
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.
Apamea zeta is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It has a Holarctic distribution, and can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It occurs throughout Europe and the northern half of North America.
Standfussiana lucernea, the northern rustic, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy and Greece in southern Europe, north through most of the continent up to Fennoscandia west to Ireland and Iceland.
Amphipoea oculea, the ear moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761 and it is found in most of the Palearctic realm.
Archanara dissoluta, the brown-veined wainscot, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Georg Friedrich Treitschke in 1825. It is found in most of Europe, east into Russia and Siberia.
The double-spot brocade is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in most of Europe, in Turkey and the west of Iran. In Anatolia it is represented by the subspecies Meganephria bimaculosa pontica.
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.
Athetis hospes, or Porter's rustic, is a moth of the family Noctuidae which was described by Christian Friedrich Freyer in 1835. It is found in Spain, southern France, Italy, on the Balkan Peninsula, Crete, Turkey and northern Iran. The species seems to be expanding its range in north-western Europe with records from Great Britain and the Netherlands.
Luperina dumerilii, or Dumeril's rustic, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1826. It is found in the Mediterranean region and warmer areas of central and south-eastern Europe. Strays have been recorded from southern England. It is also present in Turkey and Jordan.