Noctuidae : Xyleninae
Dark Mottled Willow
SPODOPTERA cilium Guenée, 1852
Dark Mottled Willow
SPODOPTERA cilium Guenée, 1852
Kind permission - © Tim Norriss
Life Cycle Guide - Adult Only
Description
Wingspan: 28 - 34mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - including (Balearic Is.,Britain,Canary Is.,Corsica,Crete,Cyprus,France,Gibralter,Greece,Italy,Madeira, Malta, Portugal,Sardinia,Sicily,Spain and Ukraine) : Africa - (Algeria, Burkina Fasso, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, La Reunion, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zimbabwe)
: Tropical Asia : Iran : Afghanistan : India
UK Distribution: Rare immigrant recorded on south coasts of Devon,Cornwall and Scilly isles
UK Conservation Status -
Type Species -
Type Locality -
Flight Period: Europe - August - October : As migrant in Britain - September or October
Habitat: Grassland
Similar Species -
Observations: Although similar to the Pale Mottled Wilow but instead of tawny subterminal line there is a grey brown blotch in centre of pale subterminal line.There are also no white spots in reniform stigmata.
Male is brown with dark stigma,whilst the female is dark and grey with more obscure markings as in photo.
Gentalia examination might be necessary to separate the two species.
The moth is a rare migrant from southern Europe appearing on the Lizard in Cornwall in September 1990 for the first time followed by another two days later at Portland to a point where 25 approximately have been seen to date.
The moth has a range that is encompasses southern Europe eastwards to tropical Asia.migrating northwards to Great Britain.
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - including (Balearic Is.,Britain,Canary Is.,Corsica,Crete,Cyprus,France,Gibralter,Greece,Italy,Madeira, Malta, Portugal,Sardinia,Sicily,Spain and Ukraine) : Africa - (Algeria, Burkina Fasso, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, La Reunion, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zimbabwe)
: Tropical Asia : Iran : Afghanistan : India
UK Distribution: Rare immigrant recorded on south coasts of Devon,Cornwall and Scilly isles
UK Conservation Status -
- Rare Migrant
- Least Concern
Type Species -
Type Locality -
Flight Period: Europe - August - October : As migrant in Britain - September or October
Habitat: Grassland
Similar Species -
- Small Mottled Willow - Spodoptera exigua - (Hübner, [1808])
- Pale Mottled Willow - Paradrina clavipalpis - (Scopoli, 1763)
Observations: Although similar to the Pale Mottled Wilow but instead of tawny subterminal line there is a grey brown blotch in centre of pale subterminal line.There are also no white spots in reniform stigmata.
Male is brown with dark stigma,whilst the female is dark and grey with more obscure markings as in photo.
Gentalia examination might be necessary to separate the two species.
The moth is a rare migrant from southern Europe appearing on the Lizard in Cornwall in September 1990 for the first time followed by another two days later at Portland to a point where 25 approximately have been seen to date.
The moth has a range that is encompasses southern Europe eastwards to tropical Asia.migrating northwards to Great Britain.
Photo Gallery
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Malvaceaea - The Mallow Family
- Hibiscus sabdariffa - Roselle
- Poaceae - Gramineae - True Grasses Family
- Axonopus compressus - Broadleaf Carpetgrass
- Cynodon dactylon - Bermuda Grass
- Oryza sativa - Asian Rice
- Paspalum scrobiculatum - Kodo Millet
- Zea mays - Sweetcorn
- Rubiaceae - Bedstraw Family
- Randia macrantha - Angel's Trumpets
- Solanaceae - Bedstraw Family
- Nicotiana tabacum - Tobacco
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Tribe: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - SPODOPTERA: Original Species Name: Species Names: Nominotypical Subspecies: Literary Ref: Type Locality |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Noctuoidea Noctuidae Xyleninae Prodeniini SPODOPTERA Guenée 1852 Spodoptera cilium Guenée, 1852 - Hadena mauritia Boisduval, 1833 - SPODOPTERA cilium Guenée, 1852 = Laphygma cycloides Guenée, 1852 = Caradrina latebrosa Lederer, 1855 = Caradrina orbicularis Walker, 1857 = Caradrina praeterita Walker, 1857 = Caradrina insignata Walker, 1857 = Laphygma procedens Walker, 1857 = Agrotis infixa Walker, 1862 = Laphygma obliterans Walker, 1862 = Laphygma imperviata Walker, 1865 = Spodoptera insulsa Walker, 1865 = Laphygma retrahens Walker, 1870 = Ariathisa abyssinia - SPODOPTERA cilium cilium Guenée, 1852 - Histoire naturelle des insectes; spécies général des lépidoptères by Boisduval, Jean Alphonse, 1801-1879; Guenée, Achille, 1809-1880 : Title Page : P159 - n.249 - Java |