''Parastichtis suspecta'', the suspected, 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 ...

in 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 from most of Europe through

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and east through the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is also found in North America.

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 of ...

is 29–34 mm. Adults are variable with a number of forms ranging from plain to more variegated. Forewing pale luteous grey, with sometimes strong red-brown, rufous or brownish tinge; the lines and shading only slightly darker; the median shade distinct; the upper stigmata large, with distinct whitish outline; submarginal line pale, waved, the terminal area beyond it darker; hindwing dull grey; of this form the very palest specimens with scarcely any markings are ab. ''pallida'' Tutt, while the grey examples with no rufous or luteous tinge whatever are ''grisea'' Tutt; — ''suspecta'' Hbn

ype Peace River Airport is a municipally owned airport located west of the Town of Peace River, Alberta, Canada. The airport has one runway, which is , and a terminal building, which is . Northern Air is based at the airport and provides scheduled ...

is more mottled with darker, brownish red, shades; — in ''nigrescens'' Tutt these dark shades are intensified and the whole insect becomes blackish red brown; the bright red specimens, with lines and markings clear are ''rufa'' Tutt; — while the red brown forms mixed with purplish grey and with paler stigmata are ''variegata''

Biology

Adults are on wing from late July to August in one generation in Europe. Larva purplish brown; dorsal line yellowish white, well-defined; subdorsal lines faint; tubercles prominent; underside pale yellowish. The larvae feed on '' Salix lapponum'', '' Salix caprea'' and ''

Salix phylicifolia ''Salix phylicifolia'', the tea-leaved willow, is a species of willow native to Northern Europe including Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Scandinavia, Finland, Russia, and Western Siberia. It was the first bush found on the new volcanic island of Sur ...

''. The young larvae live in spun shoots of the host plant. When older, they live in spun leaves. Larvae can be found from April to June. Pupation takes place underground. The species overwinters as an egg on the host plant.Vlindernet
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References

External links

Lepiforum
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7136032 Moths described in 1817 Cuculliinae Moths of Japan Moths of North America Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Moths of Iceland Taxa named by Jacob Hübner