The false water betony (''Shargacucullia prenanthis'') 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 from south-eastern France, through the Alps and bordering mountains east to Romania and Bulgaria. It is also found in Anatolia and Lebanon.

Technical description and variation

''C. prenanthis'' Bsd. (= ''ceramanthea'' Frr.) (27 i). Forewing violaceous grey, outer half of costal area shaded darker; lower half of submedian fold before the outer line broadly streaked with whitish; stigmata entirely absent; a black streak along inner margin to outer line, and a broader black streak beyond it below vein 2, continued as a fine marginal line to apex and cut by the whiter veins; a row of dark streaks from apex to vein 6; hindwing brown in both sexes, though often paler in the male. Larva green; dorsal and subdorsal lines yellow, spiracular line white; head green; tubercles yellowish white. Warren. W. in Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 ''Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde'', Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914 The wingspan is 37–43 mm.

Biology

Adults are on wing from April to June. There is one generation per year. The larvae feed on '' Scrophularia'' species, including '' Scrophularia nodosa'' first on the flowers and seeds, then on the leaves

References

External links

''Cucullia (Shargacucullia) prenanthis'' Boisduval, 1840 on Fauna Europaea

Lepiforum.de

schmetterlinge-deutschlands.de
Cuculliinae Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Boisduval Moths described in 1840 {{Cuculliinae-stub