''Amphipoea lucens'', the large ear or large ear moth, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

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 ...

. It was first described by

Christian Friedrich Freyer Christian Friedrich Freyer (25 August 1794, Wassertrüdingen – 11 November 1885, Augsburg) was a German entomologist mainly interested in Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterfl ...

in 1845 and it is found in most of Europe. the

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is about 30–36 mm. It resembles ''

Amphipoea oculea ''Amphipoea oculea'', the ear moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It was Species description, first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761 and it is found in most of the Palearctic realm. The wingspan is 29–34 mm. Forewing pale or dark ...

'', but is larger, and with the ground colour, as a rule, pale and the reniform white. Adults are on wing from August to September. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e feed on the roots and stem bases of various grasses, especially ''

Molinia caerulea ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid so ...

''.

Similar species

Requiring genitalic examination to separate See Townsend et al.,Martin C. Townsend, Jon Clifton and Brian Goodey (2010)
''British and Irish Moths: An Illustrated Guide to Selected Difficult Species''
(covering the use of genitalia characters and other features) Butterfly Conservation. *'' Amphipoea fucosa'' *'' Amphipoea crinanensis'' *''

References

External links

* * Taxonomy
''Lepiforum e.V.''
Includes photo of genitalia
''De Vlinderstichting''
Acronictinae Moths described in 1845 Moths of Europe Taxa named by Christian Friedrich Freyer {{Acronictinae-stub