''Hadena caesia'', also called the grey, is a species of
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 has a scattered distribution all over Europe (see subspecies section).
Technical description and variation
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 . Forewing blue grey, with a furry look, caused by dusky grey irroration; both folds tinged with fulvous; lines and markings often indistinct; upper stigmata pale, with yellow scales in their annuli; a dark antemedian band widened to inner margin and a less prominent dark submarginal cloud; a small dark blotch at middle of costa; hindwing dark fuscous, paler towards base; — ''manani'' Gregs. from the Isle of Man and the Irish coast, is uniformly darker slate colour; — ab. ''nigrescens'' Stgr., from the Pyrenees, Alps, and Mts. of Scandinavia is much darker, the forewing suffused with black; on the other hand
ow full species ''Hadena clara''">Hadena_clara.html" ;"title="ow full species ''Hadena clara">ow full species ''Hadena clara''Stgr., from Armenia and Asia Minor, has the forewing greyer, with a pinkish tinge; the median area paler.
Biology
Adults are on wing from June to August.
Larva brownish ochreous, freckled with darker; a dorsal series of V-shaped marks; subdorsal line darker. The young larvae feed on capsules of various ''Silene'' species (including ''Silene nutans'' and ''Silene vulgaris'').
Later, they feed on the leaves. They overwinter as a pupa.
Subspecies
* ssp. ''caesia''
(Denis&Schiffermüller, 1775) (
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
)
* ssp. ''abruzzensis''
(Draudt, 1934) (
Apennine Mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
)
* ssp. ''ostrogovichi''
(Hacker, 1989) (
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
)
* ssp. ''bulgarica''
(Boursin, 1959) (
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
)
* ssp. ''xanthophoba''
(Schawerda, 1922) (
Balkan Peninsula
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
)
* ssp. ''mananii''
(Gregson, 1866) (
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
)
* ssp. ''frigida''
(Zetterstedt, 1839) (southern
Fennoscandia
__NOTOC__
Fennoscandia (Finnish language, Finnish, Swedish language, Swedish and no, Fennoskandia, nocat=1; russian: Фенноскандия, Fennoskandiya) or the Fennoscandian Peninsula is the geographical peninsula in Europe, which includes ...
)
* ssp. ''grisea''
(Hospital, 1948) (mountains of northern
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
)
* ssp. ''revolcadorensis''
(Calle, 1983) (the
Region of Murcia
The Region of Murcia (, ; es, Región de Murcia ), is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in ...
)
* ssp. ''castiliana''
(Reisser, 1935) (
Castile region)
References
External links
Lepiforum e.V.schmetterlinge-deutschlands.de
UKmoths
Taxonomy
Fauna Europaea
{{Taxonbar, from=Q310185
Hadena
Moths of Europe
Moths described in 1775