''Orthosia populeti'', the lead-coloured drab, 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 ...

. It is found in Europe. The wingspan is 34–40 mm. The length of the forewings is 15–17 mm. Meyrick describes it -Antennae in male bipectinated. Forewings brown-grey, slightly purplish-tinged ; first, median, and second lines somewhat darker, especially on costa ; orbicular and reniform darker, outlined with pale ; subterminal line pale greyish-ochreous, edged anteriorly in middle with two small red-brown or black marks. Hindwings grey. Larva pale green or greenish-whitish ; dorsal, subdorsal, and spiracular lines whitish ; head pale greenish-ochreous, more or less blackmarked. ''Orthosia populeti'' is difficult to certainly distinguish from its congener ''

Orthosia incerta ''Orthosia incerta'', the clouded drab, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae, found in Europe and Asia. The occurrence of the species extends through all European countries through the Palearctic to the Russian Far East and Japan. It is a ...

'' See Townsend et al.Martin C. Townsend, Jon Clifton and Brian Goodey (2010)
''British and Irish Moths: An Illustrated Guide to Selected Difficult Species''
(covering the use of genitalia characters and other features) Butterfly Conservation. The moth flies in one generation from the beginning of March to May . The egg is greyish white with dark grey girdled dots. When full grown the caterpillar is whitish or yellowish green, but always whitish on the back: three white lines on the back, the central one rather broad; head ochreous brown with a blackish spot on each side. The

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s mainly feed on aspen.

Notes

#''The flight season refers to Belgium and the Netherlands. This may vary in other parts of the range.''

References

External links

Lead-coloured drab on UKmothsLepiforum.deVlindernet.nl
Orthosia Moths described in 1781 Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius {{Orthosiini-stub