The northern deep-brown dart (''Aporophyla lueneburgensis'') 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 in 1848 and it is found in northern and western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. As the common name suggests, this species usually has very dark brown to purplish grey forewings, although paler grey forms exist. There is always a much darker central band, almost black in the darker forms. All the lines and stigmata are very neatly marked and edged with paler. By contrast, the hindwings are much paler, often almost pure white in the male but usually with darker venation. 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 36–41 mm. It is a decidedly smaller and neater insect than ''

Aporophyla lutulenta ''Aporophyla lutulenta'', also known as the deep brown dart, is a moth of the family Noctuoidea. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found in Europe, primarily in central and southern Europe ...

''. It flies at night in August and September and is attracted to light and sugar as well as various

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s. 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 ...

usually feeds on heather but has been recorded on other low plants such as

bird's-foot trefoil ''Lotus corniculatus'' is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae, native to grasslands in temperate Eurasia and North Africa. Common names include common bird's-foot trefoil, eggs and bacon, birdsfoot deervetch, and just bird's-foot trefo ...

. This species overwinters as a small larva.

Taxonomy

''Aporophyla lueneburgensis'' may be a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''

''. #''The flight season refers to the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

. This may vary in other parts of the range.''

References

Chinery, Michael Michael Chinery (born 1938, in London) is an English naturalist. He studied in Cambridge where he graduated in natural sciences and anthropology. He edits '' Cecidology'', the journal of the British Plant Gall Society The British Plant Gall ...

(1986, reprinted 1991). ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe''. * Skinner, Bernard (1984). ''

The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles ''The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles (Macrolepidoptera)'' by Bernard Skinner is a single volume identification guide to the macromoths of Britain and Ireland published by Viking Books, often referred by moth recorders ...

''.

External links

* * Taxonomy
''Fauna Europaea''''Lepiforum e.V.''
Aporophyla Moths described in 1848 Moths of Europe Taxa named by Christian Friedrich Freyer {{cuculliinae-stub