Noctuidae : Noctuinae
Lesser Yellow Underwing
NOCTUA comes Hübner, [1813]
Lesser Yellow Underwing
NOCTUA comes Hübner, [1813]
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 38-48mm
Worldwide Distribution: Southern Europe : Central Europe : Morocco : Algeria : Tunisia : Middle East : Syria : Iraq : Iran : Turkey : Caucasus : Transcaucasia : Armenia : introduced into British Columbia & Washington
UK Distribution: Widespread and common throughout British Isles : Ireland : Channel Isles : Isle of Man
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Woodland : Heathland : Gardens : Downland : Moorland
Similar Species:-
Pupa: Pupates underground
Overwinters as: Small larva
Observations: The main defining identification of the moth is the dark crescent shapes on the hindwings as shown,sadly not clearly,in photo 4.
Its similar species the rare Lunar Yellow Underwing N. orbona has a black patch near the forewing apex along the leading edge which clearly is missing in N. comes where the submaginal line thickens to create a black triangular shape in the same place.
The moth forewing colour is variable as well as the intensity of the forewing cross-lines.
The Lesser Underwing is one of those underwings that are found in considerable numbers at the moth trap and are also attracted to sugar as well as being found feeding on flowers.
Worldwide Distribution: Southern Europe : Central Europe : Morocco : Algeria : Tunisia : Middle East : Syria : Iraq : Iran : Turkey : Caucasus : Transcaucasia : Armenia : introduced into British Columbia & Washington
UK Distribution: Widespread and common throughout British Isles : Ireland : Channel Isles : Isle of Man
UK Conservation Status -
- Common = >300 10Km Squares
- Least Concern
- Noctua comes (Hübner, [1813])
- Phalaena pronuba (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Europe
Habitat: Woodland : Heathland : Gardens : Downland : Moorland
Similar Species:-
- Lunar Yellow Underwing Noctua orbona (Hufnagal, 1766)
Pupa: Pupates underground
Overwinters as: Small larva
Observations: The main defining identification of the moth is the dark crescent shapes on the hindwings as shown,sadly not clearly,in photo 4.
Its similar species the rare Lunar Yellow Underwing N. orbona has a black patch near the forewing apex along the leading edge which clearly is missing in N. comes where the submaginal line thickens to create a black triangular shape in the same place.
The moth forewing colour is variable as well as the intensity of the forewing cross-lines.
The Lesser Underwing is one of those underwings that are found in considerable numbers at the moth trap and are also attracted to sugar as well as being found feeding on flowers.
Photo Gallery
Larva
Lesser Yellow Underwing larvae are polyphagous,feeding on a wide variety of plant families described below.
Seen in my garden the larva below was found feeding on a member of the Brassica family that was planted with wildflower garden seeds.
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.
- Ericaceae - Heather Family
- Calluna vulgaris - Common Heather - Ling
- Polygonaceae - Docks - Sorrels - Knotweeds - Smartweeds
- Rumex crispus - Curled Dock
- Rumex obtusifolius - Broad-leaved Dock
- Rosaceae - Rose Family
- Crataegus monogyna - Hawthorn
- Fragaria x ananassa - Strawberry
- Prunus spinosa - Blackthorn - Sloe (Britain)
- Rubiaceae - Bedstraw Family
- Galium verum - Lady's Bedstraw
- Scrophulariaceae - Figwort Family
- Digitalis purpurea - Foxglove
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
- Asteraceae - Compositae - Cirsium - Thistles
- Betulaceae - Betula - Birches
- Plantaginaceae - Plantago - Knotweeds & Knotgrasses
- Salicaceae - Salix - Willows
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
- Digitalis purpurea - Foxglove
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Tribe: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - NOCTUA: Original Species Name: Species Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Noctuoidea Noctuidae Noctuinae Noctuini NOCTUA Linnaeus, 1758 Noctua comes Hübner, [1813] - Phalaena pronuba (Linnaeus, 1758) - NOCTUA comes Hübner, [1813] = Noctua orbona Fabricius, 1787 = Phalaena (Noctua) pronuba-minor Villers, 1789 = Tryphaena curtisi Newman, 1870 = consequa Curtis = Rhyacia orbona f olivacea Turati, 1924 = Noctua comes loeberbaueri Burmann & Tarmann, 1987 = Noctua comes scotophila Burmann & Tarmann, 1987. - Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge / errichtet von Jacob Hübner in Augsburg. By Hübner, Jacob, 1761-1826 : Lepidoptera 1V : Noctuae 1 : p.111 - f. 521 - Europe |