''Actebia praecox'', the Portland moth, is a
moth of the family
Noctuidae
The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...
. The species was
first described by
Carl Linnaeus in his 1758
10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found in northern and central Europe, the
Caucasus, central Asia,
Siberia,
Kamchatka,
Sakhalin, the
Kuriles, northern
Turkey,
Mongolia,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Korea and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
The
wingspan is 35–40 mm. "Forewing narrow and elongate, dull pale green, dusted with whitish; the three stigmata ochreous concisely black-edged; orbicular round, with a rounded rufous centre, reniform with a fine angled line swollen at each end; submarginal line preceded by a dull vinous band; apex whitish; hindwing fuscous brown. — ab. ''flavomaculata'' Graes., bluish green with the ochreous tints more yellow and the hindwings much darke-r, is confined to the Asiatic localities, but Leech states that some Irish specimens resemble it."
The caterpillar is light grey, or greenish coloured, has a dark lined yellowish back stripe with adjacent striking, ornamental, bright markings as well as yellow dorsolateral lines and a wide, white lateral stripe. The very slender pupa is shiny reddish brown and has a long thorn on the cremaster.
It is almost exclusively found on sandy terrain, for example in dune areas, sandy fields, shore regions and sand heaths.
The
larvae feed on ''
Salix repens
''Salix repens'', the creeping willow, is a small, shrubby species of willow in the family Salicaceae, growing up to 1.5metres in height. Found amongst sand dunes and heathlands, it is a polymorphic species, with a wide range of variants. In ...
'' and other sand-dune plants.
References
Further reading
*South R. (1907) ''The Moths of the British Isles'', (First Series), Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd., London & NY: 359 pp.
online Britain and Ireland.
External links
Portland moth at ''UKMoths''''Lepiforum e.V.''
Noctuinae
Moths described in 1758
Moths of Asia
Moths of Europe
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Noctuinae-stub