Noctuidae : Xyleninae
Blair's Shoulder-knot or Stone Pinion
LITHOPHANE (Prolitha) leautieri (Boisduval, 1829)
Blair's Shoulder-knot or Stone Pinion
LITHOPHANE (Prolitha) leautieri (Boisduval, 1829)
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 39-44mm
Worldwide Distribution: Central & South-west Europe-Spain,Portugal,Italy,Corsica,France,Denmark,Netherlands,Switzerland and Britain : North Africa
UK Distribution: Resident: Recent colonist : First found on Isle of Wight in 1951 moving northwards since is now as far as Cumbria
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Gardens: Parks : Conifer plantations : Anywhere where food plant is available
Similar Species -
Pupa: Pupates underground
Overwinters as: Ova
Observations: The Blair's Shoulder-knot is one of the unmistakable moths to be found in autumn with its narrow grey forewings with black streaks,the longest being at the base.
The reniform and subreniform spots are lighter that the forewing background colour.
The moth is a fairly recent colonist being first recorded on the Isle of Wight in 1951 and is now common in southern,south-western England and south Wales into the midlands.By 1996 it had reached Cumbria and by 2001 it had reached Scotland.
It is an autumnal moth flying between September and November and is a regular visitor to light although not attracted to sugar.
It would appear to not be a very active moth having now been in the position you can see below for three days, under a light during the night, without moving at time of writing, therefore not being a moth that is often seen during the day.
Worldwide Distribution: Central & South-west Europe-Spain,Portugal,Italy,Corsica,France,Denmark,Netherlands,Switzerland and Britain : North Africa
UK Distribution: Resident: Recent colonist : First found on Isle of Wight in 1951 moving northwards since is now as far as Cumbria
UK Conservation Status -
- Common = >300 10Km Squares
- Least Concern
- Xylena leautieri (Boisduval, 1829)
- Noctua petrificata ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)
- France
Habitat: Gardens: Parks : Conifer plantations : Anywhere where food plant is available
Similar Species -
- None
Pupa: Pupates underground
Overwinters as: Ova
Observations: The Blair's Shoulder-knot is one of the unmistakable moths to be found in autumn with its narrow grey forewings with black streaks,the longest being at the base.
The reniform and subreniform spots are lighter that the forewing background colour.
The moth is a fairly recent colonist being first recorded on the Isle of Wight in 1951 and is now common in southern,south-western England and south Wales into the midlands.By 1996 it had reached Cumbria and by 2001 it had reached Scotland.
It is an autumnal moth flying between September and November and is a regular visitor to light although not attracted to sugar.
It would appear to not be a very active moth having now been in the position you can see below for three days, under a light during the night, without moving at time of writing, therefore not being a moth that is often seen during the day.
Subspecies
L.l.hesperica Boursin, 1957-Britain : Channel Isles
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.
- Cupressaceae - Cypress Family
- Chamaecyparis lawsoniana - Lawson's Cypress
- Cupressocyparis leylandii - Leyland Cypress
- Cupressus macrocarpa - Monterey Cypress
- Juniperus communis - Juniper
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Tribe: Subtribe: Genus: Subgenus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - LITHOPHANE: Original Species Name: Species Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Nominotypical Subspecies: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Noctuoidea Noctuidae Xyleninae Xylenini Xylenina LITHOPHANE Hübner, [1821] Prolitha Berio, 1980 LITHOPHANE (Prolitha) leautieri (Boisduval 1829) - Noctua petrificata ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) - XYLENA leautieri (Boisduval, 1829) = Lithophane (Prolitha) leautieri = Lithophane lapidea auctorum - BOISDUVAL, JA (1840): Genera et index methodicus europaeorum lepidopterorum: I-VII, 1-238 : Title Page : XYLINIDES - p.150 - n.1203 - France - Xylena leautieri leautieri Boisduval, 1829 - L.l.leautieri Boisduval, 1829 L.l.sabinae Geyer, 1832-Type Locality-Germany L.l.nicaeensis Boursin, 1957-S France L.l.cyrnos Boursin, 1957-Corsica L.l.hesperica Boursin, 1957-Britain : Channel Isles : TL. Marsas, par Cavignas L.l.andulusica Boursin, 1962-Spain L.l.ochreimacula Rothchild, 1914-Algeria |