''Cucullia asteris'', or star-wort, 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 ...

. The species was first described by

Michael Denis Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis, also: ''Sined the Bard'', (27 September 1729 – 29 September 1800) was an Austrian Catholic priest and Jesuit, who is best known as a poet, bibliographer, and lepidopterist. Life Denis was born at Schärding ...

and

Ignaz Schiffermüller Ignaz Schiffermüller (born 2 October 1727 in Hellmonsödt; died 21 June 1806 in Linz) was an Austrian naturalist mainly interested in Lepidoptera. Schiffermüller was a teacher at the Theresianum College in Vienna. His collection was presented ...

in 1775. It is found through the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

including Japan.

Technical description and variation

''C. asteris'' Schiff (27 e). Forewing pale grey; costal area dull reddish brown; the cell and space beyond rufous tinged: stigmata obscure, incompletely defined by brown, the reniform with a dark curved streak at its lower end; outer line defined only below vein 2 on submedian fold where it forms a double red-brown lunule, followed by a white one beyond which is a thick brown blotch or two streaks; both the inner and outer lines are marked by very oblique dark brown streaks on inner margin; hindwing brownish, the basal half dull whitish grey with dark veins. Larva yellow green; dorsal, subdorsal, and spiracular lines yellow with black edges; head yellow brown, with black spots. Warren. W. in Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 ''Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde'', Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914 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 45–52 mm.

Biology

The moth flies from May to September depending on the location. The larvae feed on '' Aster tripolium'', goldenrod, and other ''

Aster Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...

'' species.

References

External links

*
''Fauna Europaea''''Lepiforum e. V.''

''De Vlinderstichting''
Cucullia Moths of Europe Articles containing video clips Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller Moths described in 1775 {{Cuculliinae-stub