The lesser yellow underwing (''Noctua comes'') 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 ...

Distribution

It is found in the Palearctic realm ( Europe, North Africa,

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, Middle East, South Russia, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, north-west India,

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

, Central Asia, and in Denver ( Colorado) ). It was introduced into British Columbia in about 1982 and has spread southward in the Pacific Northwest. It has recently been reported from Ontario (Crolla 2008). Full synonymy given in Lafontaine. It is a common species but not as abundant as its larger relative large yellow underwing (''Noctua pronuba''). Moths of the British Isles Plate115

Description

This species generally has the appearance of a smaller ( wingspan 38–48 mm) version of the large yellow underwing '' Noctua pronuba''. The forewings are equally variable in pattern and colour, from pale clay to reddish clay, light brown to almost black. The stigmata are dark and outlined with pale yellow. The crosslines are weak. The wavy line flows on to the front edge as a no more than dark brown (never black) stain, which is sometimes extended down the entire wavy line. The hindwings are orange-yellow with a broad black sub-terminal band and central discal lunule (usually absent in ''Noctua pronuba''). It is also similar to the lunar yellow underwing ''

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 ...

''. In the overall impression a broad-winged species. It flies at night from July to September and is attracted to light and flowers such as heather, marram grass, and ragwort. The larva is also very similar to that of ''Noctua pronuba'' – green or brown with black dashes along the back. Its feeding habits, however, are very different: this is not a " cutworm" but feeds on the foliage of a range of plants, trees, and

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s as well as

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

plants (see list below). This species overwinters as a larva.

Notes

#The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.

Recorded food plants

*''Betula'' – birch *'' Calluna'' – heather *'' Cirsium'' – thistle *''

Crataegus ''Crataegus'' (), commonly called hawthorn, quickthorn, thornapple, Voss, E. G. 1985. ''Michigan Flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part II: Dicots (Saururaceae–Cornacea ...

'' – hawthorn *''Digitalis'' – foxglove *''Fragaria'' –

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

*'' Plantago'' – plantain *''Prunus'' – blackthorn *''

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 ...

'' – docks and sorrel *''Salix'' – willow See Robinson, G. S. et al.

Gallery

Noctuidae - Noctua comes-1.JPG Noctua.comes.6968.jpg Noctua.comes.6967.jpg Britishentomologyvolume5Plate348.jpg Noctua comes01.jpg Noctua comes.01.jpg

References

* Chinery, Michael (1991). ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe''. * Skinner, Bernard (1984). ''Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles.''

External links

Lepiforum''Noctua comes''
at funet.fi
Fauna Europaea
{{Taxonbar, from=Q693618 Noctua (moth) Moths described in 1813 Moths of Africa Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of Iceland Moths of the Middle East Moths of North America Taxa named by Jacob Hübner Palearctic Lepidoptera