''Oligia dubia'' is a species of
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 ...
belonging to 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 ...
.
Etymology
The name of the species derives from the Latin ''dubia'', meaning ''doubtful'', because of the then uncertain taxonomic status of the species.
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Distribution
This rare species is present in Austria, Hungary, Northern Italy, Croatia, Slovakia and Switzerland.[
]
Habitat
These moths live in grasslands surrounded by mixed deciduous forest and in xerothermic rocky escarpment on limestone at an altitude of about 800–900 m.[Euroleps.ch]
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Description
''Oligia dubia'' has a 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 of ...
of 22–24 mm.[Lepiforum]
/ref> These moths have quite variable dark brown forewings, with a clearer marginal area.
This species is similar to '' Oligia latruncula'', '' Oligia strigilis'' and '' Oligia versicolor'' and specific identification usually requires close study of the genitalia.[
]
Biology
Adults fly from June to August. Caterpillars can be found in grasses until May. This species overwinters as a larva.[Pieris.ch]
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References
Oligia
Moths described in 1942
Moths of Europe
{{Noctuidae-stub