73.344 : 2108 : 10,097
Noctuidae : Noctuinae

Lunar Yellow Underwing

NOCTUA orbona (Hufnagel, 1766)
Picture
Kind permission - © Tim Norriss
Life Cycle Guide
Picture
Description
Wingspan: 38 - 45mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - (excluding Balearic Isles,Canary Isles,Crete,Ireland,Madeira,Malta,Russia - north) : N Africa - Morocco, Algeria,Tunisia & Libya : Lebanon : Syria : Turkey : Iraq : Caucasus : Transcaucasia : Armenia : Turkmenistan
UK Distribution: Scattered locations in southern England and East Anglia
UK Conservation Status -
  • NERC S.41 : 2008 (England) & NERC S.42 : 2009 (Wales) - Species "of principle importance for the purpose of conserving biodiversity
  • Scottish Biodiversity List : 2005
  • Nationally Scarce B (Nb - BAP : 1997) = 31 - 100 10Km Squares
  • BAP : 2007 - Priority Species
European Conservation Status -
  • Least Concern
Original Species Name -
  • Phalaena (Noctua) orbona (Hufnagel, 1766)
Type Species - Noctua
  • Phalaena pronuba (Linnaeus, 1758)
Type Locality -
  • Germany - Berlin
Flight Period: June - September - dormant in July
Habitat: Sandy Areas : Heaths : Open Woodland
Similar Species -
  • Lesser Yellow Underwing - Noctua comes Hübner, [1813]
  • Large Yellow Underwing - Noctua pronuba (Linnaeus, 1758)
Larva: The 40mm final instar larva is brown with a whitish dorsal stripe and buff subdorsal lines with black rectangular markings above on each segment.Broad buff spiracular stripe with white spiracles surrounded with small black patch. Head is brown with black marks.
Pupa: Pupates in flimsy cocoon just below loose soil
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: A nationally scarce moth and a priority species under the biodiversity action plan,this moth has drastically declined over its former range and is now most frequently sought and recorded from the Breckland area of Norfolk and Suffolk plus a few scattered locations elsewhere like Porton Down.
Although similar to the Yellow Underwings above the moth can be recognised by the black mark in the vicinity of the apex. The Lesser Yellow Underwing has a broader forewing and is more frequent whilst the Large Yellow Underwing lacks a dark central crescent on the hindwing and is,by name,larger.
Both sexes are attracted to light and sugar.
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.
Larval Food Plants
Taxonomy
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Type Species - NOCTUA:

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Literary Ref:

Type Locality:
Animalia
Eumetozoa
Arthropoda
Hexapoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Noctuoidea
Noctuidae
Noctuinae
Noctuini
NOCTUA Linnaeus, 1758
Noctua orbona (Hufnagel, 1766)
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Phalaena pronuba (Linnaeus, 1758)
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PHALAENA (Noctua) orbona (Hufnagel, 1766)
= Noctua connuba Hübner, [1822]
= Triphaena innuba Treitschke, 1825
= Noctua subsequa Hübner, [1803]
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Berlin. Magazin. 3 (3): Title Page : p. 304 - n.57
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Germany - Berlin