''Noctua janthe'', the lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing, 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

Noctuoidea Noctuoidea is the superfamily of noctuid (Latin "night owl") or "owlet" moths, and has more than 70,000 described species, the largest number of for any Lepidopteran superfamily. Its classification has not yet reached a satisfactory or stable st ...

. Some authors consider ''Noctua janthe'' and '' Noctua janthina'' to be the same species. It is found in Europe and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

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 o ...

is 30–40 mm. The length of the forewings is 16–20 mm. The ground colour of the forewings varies from bright ochre to gray to brown, often with a reddish or light purple tint. Orbicular and reniform are not clearly marked. The hindwing is orange-yellow with a broad distal black band. This species can only be separated from '' Noctua janthina'' by examination of the genitalia. See Townsend et al. The moth flies in one generation from late June to September. The larvae feed on various deciduous trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.

Notes

#''The flight season refers to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. This may vary in other parts of the range.''

References

External links

Lepiforum
Includes comparison with ''janthina'' photos and other diagnostics.
''Noctua janthe''
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''
Fauna EuropaeaVlindernet waarneming.nl Lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing
at UKMoths Noctua (moth) Moths described in 1792 Moths of Africa Moths of Europe Taxa named by Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen {{Noctuinae-stub