The flame shoulder (''Ochropleura plecta'') 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 Noctuidae. The species was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

in 1761. It is distributed throughout the Palearctic from

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 ...

in the west to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

then

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and Japan in the east. The forewings of this species are reddish brown with a black streak interrupted by white

stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Sti ...

and a creamy-yellow streak along the

costa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

which gives the species its common name. The hindwings are pure white.

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 o ...

is 28–34 mm. Forewing red brown suffused with purple; costal streak broadly cream colour to outer line, sometimes red speckled; cell and a basal streak below median vein blackish or deep red; orbicular and reniform stigmata with bright pale rings and grey centres, the latter followed by a small black blotch; lines rarely visible; hindwing whitish; patagia red-brown; dorsum greyish fuscous, sometimes with basal half cream coloured, sometimes wholly cream coloured. The ab. ''unimacula'' Stgr. ow ssp.from Spain has the orbicular stigma obsolete; — in ab. ''anderssoni'' Lampa from Scandinavia the forewing is blackish purple; in ab. ''glaucimacula'' Graes. from Amurland the stigmata are smaller, as in ''

leucogaster ''Leucogaster'' is a fungal genus in the family Albatrellaceae. The genus, widespread in northern temperate regions, contains about 20 truffle A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the ...

'' Frr. ow full speciesand pearl grey in colour; the outer line of forewing well marked and indicated on hindwing also by vein-dots; patagia black brown; — ab. '' ignota'' uncertainly ranked by Swinh., described in the first instance from Sri Lanka, has the cell red like the rest of wing; European examples of this form are generally entirety pale red, with the costal streak red-speckled and usually females.

Biology

Two broods are produced each year with adults flying from April to June and again in August and September. It flies at night and is attracted to light and sugar and also to the flowers of

ragwort ''Jacobaea vulgaris'', syn. ''Senecio jacobaea'', is a very common wild flower in the family Asteraceae that is native to northern Eurasia, usually in dry, open places, and has also been widely distributed as a weed elsewhere. Common names inc ...

. The caterpillar is brownish. Ventral area yellowish. There are fine dark line found on dorsal area. Stigmata black in color. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

, grey with a yellow stripe along each side, feeds on a range of plants (see list below). This

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

overwinters as a

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

Recorded food plants

*''Arachis'' –

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...

*'' Aster'' *''Beta'' –

beet The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...

*''

Galium ''Galium'' is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some species are informally known as bedstraw. There are over 600 spe ...

'' – bedstraw *''

Plantago ''Plantago'' is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae, commonly called plantains or fleaworts. The common name plantain is shared with the unrelated cooking plantain. Most are herbaceous plants, though ...

'' – plantain *'' Rumex'' – docks and sorrel *''Salix'' –

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

*''

Senecio ''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Description Mor ...

'' – groundsel *''Trifolium'' –

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

See Robinson, G. S et al.

Subspecies

* ''O. p. plecta'' – Europe except

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

* ''O. p. unimacula'' – Iberian Peninsula

Notes

References

* Chinery, Michael ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe'' 1986 (Reprinted 1991) * Skinner, Bernard ''Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles'' 1984

External links

"73.329 BF2102 Flame Shoulder ''Ochropleura plecta'' (Linnaeus, 1761)"
''UKMoths''. Retrieved January 15, 2019. *
"10086_''Ochropleura_plecta''_(Linnaeus,_[1760])_-_Hellrandige_Erdeule"
_''Lepiforum_e.V.''_Retrieved_January_15,_2019. {{Taxonbar_.html" ;"title="760]) - Hellrandige Erdeule"">"10086 ''Ochropleura plecta'' (Linnaeus,
_''Lepiforum_e.V.''_Retrieved_January_15,_2019. {{Taxonbar_">from=Q1603074 Ochropleura Moths_described_in_1761.html" ;"title="760]) - Hellrandige Erdeule"
''Lepiforum e.V.'' Retrieved January 15, 2019. {{Taxonbar ">from=Q1603074 Ochropleura Moths described in 1761">760]) - Hellrandige Erdeule"
''Lepiforum e.V.'' Retrieved January 15, 2019. {{Taxonbar ">from=Q1603074 Ochropleura Moths described in 1761 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of Japan Insects of Turkey Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus