The straw underwing (''Thalpophila matura'') 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 ...

. The species was first described by

Johann Siegfried Hufnagel Johann Siegfried Hufnagel (17 October 1724, Uckerfelde, Falkenwalde, Prenzlau district, Brandenburg – 23 February 1795, Langenfeld, Sternberg district) was a German parson and entomologist (lepidopterist). Life Until the late 20th century nothing ...

in 1766. It is found from

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

west through

South Europe Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alba ...

and

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

. In the north it is in parts of Ireland,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Estonia. Further east the range stretches from southern Russia and

Asia minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

. This species 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 38–46 mm. The forewings are dark brown, often variegated with paler and reddish patches and usually with prominent whitish postterminal

fascia A fascia (; plural fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; from Latin: "band") is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches to, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. ...

. The hindwings are very distinctive, pale straw coloured with a broad blackish band at the margin.

Technical description and variation

Wingspan 38–46 mm. Forewing grey brown with darker dusting and suffusion; veins towards termen pale grey; a slight rufous tinge longitudinally along both folds, more conspicuous at the outer edge of reniform stigma; inner and outer lines black, conversely pale edged; the submarginal obscurely pale, indented on each fold, and preceded by a dark shade; the three stigmata black edged, their centres more or less tinged with rufous, the orbicular and reniform with an obscure pale ring; hindwing straw yellow with a broad fuscous terminal border, broadening at apex; in the form ''texta'' Esp. the forewing is darker and duller, with the paler markings all obscured.

Biology

This moth flies at night in July and August and is attracted to light, sugar and various

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

-rich

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s. Larva grey brown; dorsal line dark with pale centre; on each side a series of pale and dark longitudinal lines, the subdorsal and lateral edged with darker. It feeds on various

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

es such as ''

Dactylis ''Dactylis'' is a genus of Eurasian and North African plants in the bluegrass subfamily within the grass family. ''Dactylis'' is native to North Africa, they are found throughout the world, and are an invasive species. They are known in Englis ...

''. This species overwinters as a small larva. Prefers dry grassland habitats, forest edges, and park-like landscapes. # ''The flight season refers to the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

. This may vary in other parts of the range.'' File:Thalpophila matura-pjt2.jpg, Detail of the front part of the body File:Thalpophila matura hw entomart.jpg, Detail of the hind wings File:Thalpophila matura larva.jpg, Larva

References

* *

External links

* * Taxonomy.
''Fauna Europaea''

''Lepiforum e.V.''

''De Vlinderstichting''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q914233 Thalpophila Moths described in 1766 Moths of Africa Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel