''Noctua'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "little owl") is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

s. They have dull,

cryptic Cryptic may refer to: In science: * Cryptic species complex, a group of species that are very difficult to distinguish from one another * Crypsis, the ability of animals to blend in to avoid observation * Cryptic era, earliest period of the Earth ...

forewings and often very bright

hindwing Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwi ...

s. These are hidden under the forewings when the moths rest, leading to their common name of yellow underwings. They are not particularly closely related to the "true" underwing moths (''Catocala'') though, apart from both being Noctuoidea (and in the traditional classification,

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 ...

). They are good fliers.

Species

* '' Noctua atlantica'' (

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

, 1905 * ''

Noctua carvalhoi Noctua may refer to: *Noctua (company), a computer hardware company *Noctua (constellation) Noctua (Latin: ''owl'') was a constellation near the tail of Hydra in the southern celestial hemisphere, but is no longer recognized. It was introduce ...

Pinker Pinker may refer to: People *George Pinker (1924–2007), British obstetrician and gynecologist *Rachel Pinker, American meteorologist * Robert Pinker (born 1931), British sociologist *Steven Pinker (born 1954), Canadian-American psychologist, ling ...

, 1983 * ''

Noctua comes The lesser yellow underwing (''Noctua comes'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. Distribution It is found in the Palearctic realm (Europe, North Africa, Canary Islands, Middle East, South Russia, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, A ...

'' – lesser yellow underwing

Hübner __NOTOC__ Hübner is a Germanic surname, sometimes spelled Huebner or Hubner. The name means an agricultural worker, a farmer, possibly and specifically one who worked a "hube", which was a piece of land roughly equivalent to the English measuremen ...

813 Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 22 – Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars, led by Krum, ruler (''khan'') of the Bulgarian Empire, defeat Emperor Michael I near Edirne (modern Turkey). The Byzantine army (26,000 men) is d ...

/small> * '' Noctua fimbriata'' – broad-bordered yellow underwing Schreber, 1759 * ''

Noctua interjecta ''Noctua interjecta'', the least yellow underwing, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe. Subspecies There are two subspecies: * ''Noctua interjecta interjecta'' (Alps, southern France, northern and south-eastern S ...

'' – least yellow underwing Hübner,

803 __NOTOC__ Year 803 ( DCCCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperors Nikephoros I and Charlemagne settle their imperial boundaries ...

/small> * ''

Noctua interposita ''Noctua interposita'' is a moth of the family Noctuinae. It is found in 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 ha ...

'' Hübner,

790 __NOTOC__ Year 790 ( DCCXC) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 790 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

/small> * ''

Noctua janthe ''Noctua janthe'', the lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing, is a moth of the family Noctuoidea. Some authors consider ''Noctua janthe'' and '' Noctua janthina'' to be the same species. It is found in Europe and North Africa. The wingspan is ...

'' – lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing

Borkhausen Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen (3 December 1760, Giessen – 30 November 1806, Darmstadt) was a German naturalist and forester. He took part in the production of ' by Johann Conrad Susemihl. He received his education in Giessen, and in 1796 started ...

, 1792 * ''

Noctua janthina The lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing or Langmaid's yellow underwing (''Noctua janthina'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout southern and central Europe, and southern Sweden. Like other members of its genu ...

'' – lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing

Denis Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), baron in the Kingdom of Hungary * Denis the Carthusian (1402–14 ...

& Schiffermüller, 1775 * ''

Noctua noacki ''Noctua noacki'' is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found on the Canary Islands. It is commonly misspelled ''noaki'' instead of ''noacki''. Noctua (moth) {{noctuinae-stub ...

Boursin Boursin () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography A small farming village located 12 miles (19 km) south of Calais, on the D251 road. Population Sights * The church of St ...

, 1957 * ''

Noctua orbona ''Noctua orbona'', the lunar yellow underwing, is a moth of the family Noctuoidea. It is found in the Palearctic. Distribution North Africa (Morocco and Libya), western, central and southern Europe. In the north to Scotland, southern Norway, ce ...

'' – lunar yellow underwing

Hufnagel Hufnagel (literally "hoof nail", metonymic occupational name for a farrier) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Charles A. Hufnagel (1916–1989), American surgeon *Johann Siegfried Hufnagel (1724–1795), German parson *John Hu ...

, 1766 * '' Noctua pronuba'' – large yellow underwing (Linnaeus, 1758) * '' Noctua teixeirai'' Pinker, 1971 * ''

Noctua tertia ''Noctua tertia'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Balkans (Greece and Bulgaria), Turkey and Iran. It has recently been recorded from forests in Upper Galilee (Nahal Keziv, Mount Meron) in Israel Israel (; he, י� ...

Mentzer Mentzer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Denise Mentzer, American politician from Michigan *Ethan Mentzer, member of The Click Five * Frank Mentzer, American fantasy author * John Thomas Mentzer, American marketing professor ...

, Moberg & Fibiger, 1991 * '' Noctua tirrenica'' Biebinger,

Speidel Speidel is a manufacturer of watchbands and related items based in East Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It was originally founded in Germany by Friedrich Speidel in 1867 as a manufacturer of gold and silver chains. The Speidel Chain C ...

& Hanigk, 1983 * '' Noctua undosa''

Leech Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodie ...

, 1889 * '' Noctua warreni'' Lödl, 1987

Noctua comparison

File:Noctua interjecta.jpg, ''

'' File:Noctua comes.01.jpg, ''

'' File:Noctua interposita.JPG, ''

File:Noctua orbona.01.jpg, ''

'' File:Noctua pronuba.o1.jpg, '' Noctua pronuba'' File:Noctua jantina MHNT.jpg, ''

'' File:Noctua fimbriata2.jpg, '' Noctua fimbriata'' File:Noctua tirrenica female.jpg, '' Noctua tirrenica'' File:Epilecta linogrisea01.jpg, '' Epilecta linogrisea''

References

''Noctua''
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''

External links

Noctuinae Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Noctuinae-stub