''Lithophane socia'', the pale pinion, is a moth 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 Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found throughout western Europe from Spain to central Scandinavia then east across 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 ...

to Siberia, the Russian Far East and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Technical description and variation

The wingspan is 38–46 mm. Forewing broader than in '' L. semibrunnea'' Haw., with a blackish streak from base below cell; the inner marginal area not so completely darker; the stigmata plainer, pale ochreous, conversely oblique, the reniform reaching below median and edged below with a thick black line; a more or less plain dark median shade; black wedge-shaped marks before submarginal line; ab. ''umbrosa'' Esp. of which ''pallida'' Tutt seems to be only an extremely pale, less-marked, form, is more uniform ochreous brown, without dark suffusion; ''rufescens'' Tutt is a much rarer form, from the West of England and Ireland, in which the ochreous is suffused with rosy.

Biology

Adults are on wing in October and November, and again after hibernation in early spring, when breeding occurs. Larva apple green; dorsal line broadly white; subdorsal and spiracular lines more slenderly white; head green with dark mottling. The young larvae feed on various trees and shrubs, including '' Salix'' species (including '' Salix caprea'' and ''

Salix myrsinifolia ''Salix myrsinifolia'', known as the dark-leaved willow or myrsine-leaved willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and Western Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive ...

''), older larvae also feed on low growing plants such as ''

Rumex The docks and sorrels, genus ''Rumex'', are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial, and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Members of this genus are very common perennial herbs with a native almost worldwide distribu ...

'' species. Other recorded food plants include '' Betula'' (including '' Betula pubescens''), '' Rubus idaeus'', '' Malus domestica'', ''

Sorbus aucuparia ''Sorbus aucuparia'', commonly called rowan (UK: /ˈrəʊən/, US: /ˈroʊən/) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. It is a highly variable species, and botanists have used different Circumscription (taxo ...

'', ''

Prunus padus ''Prunus padus'', known as bird cherry, hackberry, hagberry, or Mayday tree, is a flowering plant in the rose family. It is a species of cherry, a deciduous small tree or large shrub up to tall. It is the type species of the subgenus '' Padus' ...

'', ''

Tilia ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain a ...

'' species (including '' Tilia cordata''), ''

Vaccinium myrtillus ''Vaccinium myrtillus'' or European blueberry is a holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry. It is more precisely called common bilberry or blue whortle ...

'', '' Syringa vulgaris'' and '' Viburnum opulus''. Adults are attracted to '' Hedera helix'' blossom and decaying fruit, including '' Rubus fruticosus''.

References

External links

* * Taxonomy
''Fauna Europaea''''Butterflies and Moths of Northern Ireland''The Geometroidea and Noctuoidea described by Carl Clerck (Lepidoptera) - The name ''hepatica'' Clerck is a new senior synonym of ''Lithophane socia'' (Hufnagel, 1766)''Lepiforum e.V.''''De Vlinderstichting''
socia Moths described in 1766 Moths of Japan Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel {{Xyleninae-stub