| Xylena exsoleta | |
|---|---|
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| Mounted adult specimen | |
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| Caterpillar | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Noctuidae |
| Genus: | Xylena |
| Species: | X. exsoleta |
| Binomial name | |
| Xylena exsoleta | |
Xylena exsoleta, the sword-grass, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae.
The wingspan is 58–68 mm. The length of the forewings is 24–29 mm. Forewing long and narrow. Differs from Xylena vetusta in being mainly dark or blackish grey, the ochreous ground showing only in a longitudinal streak above the median vein broadening along vein 5; orbicular stigma large and well-marked, with black linear centre and outline; lines marked by pairs of black spots on veins; submarginal line preceded by two wedgeshaped black marks which do not reach the reniform; hindwing dark fuscous. Co-extensive in range with vetusta; the form occurring in Central Asia is differentiated by Staudinger as ab. impudica, the ground colour being paler, more ashy grey, with less distinct markings; in ab. obscurata Spul. the whole forewing is suffused with brown; the opposite to this, in which all the black grey shading is absent and the whole forewing, except narrowly along costa, is pearly grey, may be called ab. pallescens ab. nov. [Warren]; in this the markings are as distinct as in the type form, and the hindwing is quite pale fuscous; there are 4 males of this form in the Tring Museum from Europe, one marked Crimmitschau and the other 3 without more precise locality. [1]
The moth flies from September to July depending on the location.
Larva green; dorsal and subdorsal lines broadly yellow; spiracular line red, pale-edged beneath, with the yellow spiracles above it; tubercles white with broad blackish rings. The larvae are widely polyphagous, feeding on various deciduous trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, including Epilobium , Lilium , Iris , Rumex , Euphorbia , Ononis , Allium cepa , Brassica oleracea and Delphinium . [2] The caterpillars of sword-grass can reach a length of approximately 60 mm. They are green, with black blotches, white lateral lines and orange markings. Like many similar species, they make their metamorphosis underground.
It is found from the Canary Islands and north-western Africa through Europe, the Near East and central Asia up to the Pacific and Japan.
These moths prefer moorlands and woodlands.
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 flame shoulder is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. It is distributed throughout the Palearctic from Ireland in the west to Siberia then Korea and Japan in the east.
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 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.
The silver Y is a migratory moth of the family Noctuidae which is named for the silvery Y-shaped mark on each of its forewings.
Globia sparganii, or Webb's wainscot, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1790. It is found in Europe, Central Asia, from southern Siberia to Manchuria, Korea, Turkey, Syria and Iran.
Luperina testacea, the flounced rustic, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe, Asia Minor and Armenia.
Fissipunctia ypsillon, the dingy shears, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm.
Lacanobia suasa, the dog’s tooth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm.
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.
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.
Coranarta cordigera, the small dark yellow underwing, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1788. It can be found in parts of Europe, mainly in the north. In central and southern Europe it is only found in mountainous areas. In the Alps for instance, it is found up to elevations of 2,200 meters.
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.
Xestia alpicola, the northern dart, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from northern Europe across the Palearctic to central Siberia and in the Alps.
Xylena vetusta, the red sword-grass, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1813. It is found in the Palearctic realm from northwestern Africa through Europe and Asia up to central Siberia. In the north it is found up to the Arctic Circle and Iceland.
Calophasia platyptera, the antirrhinum brocade, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1788. It is found in Europe, the Near East, the western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
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.
Lithomoia solidaginis, the golden-rod brindle, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1803. It is found in most of Europe, except the Iberian Peninsula, Ireland, Iceland and the western and southern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Then eastwards to the Urals, Kamchatka and Japan.In the Alps it rises to about 1500 meters. It is found mainly on marshy ground, in humid mixed forests as well as in tundra - and taiga areas.
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