| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genera of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae |
Agronoma Hübner, Georyx Hübner, Psammophila Stephens, Scotia Hübner
Adults. Head rough. Face with a small truncate-conical prominence having a raised rim (7 species), or without any conspicuous prominence (2 species). Eyes glabrous; not ciliated. Antennae of males simple, or ciliate, or dentate, or bipectinate.
Wingspan 30–50 mm. Forewings grey, grey-brown, umber brown, etc.; neither green nor greenish tinged; neither purplish nor rosy marked or tinged; complexly patterned; the patterning well marked; reniform defined; orbicular defined; claviform defined, or undefined. Hindwings white, or whitish, or fuscous, or grey (usually darker posteriorly); plain, or terminally darkened (usually); with a clear discal mark, or without a clear discal mark; transversely lined, or without transverse lines (mostly); exhibiting vein 5. Vein 5 of the hindwings strong (distally); arising nearer to vein 6 than to vein 4. Thorax crested (front and rear). Middle tibiae with spines. Posterior tibiae with spines. Abdomen not crested.
Living adults found June to August, or August and September, or August to December, or January to April (hibernating A. ipsilon and A. ripae).
Larvae, pupae. Larvae posteriorly rounded, or posteriorly tapered; feeding on divers Dicot herbs and grasses, sometimes in roots or stems; pupating in the soil.
British representation. 12 species. Status in Britain indigenous, or vagrant, or adventive, or alien. South-east England, Central-southern England, South-west England, English Midlands, Northern England, Southern Scotland, Northern Scotland, Wales, and Ireland; A. cinerea (Light Feathered Rustic), A. clavis (Heart and Club), A. crassa (Great Dart, sporadic migrant from mainland Europe), A. exclamationis (Heart and Dart), A. ipsilon (Dark Sword Grass), A. puta (Shuttle-shaped Dart), A. ripae (Sand Dart), A. segetum (Turnip moth), A. spinifera (Gregson’s Dart, occasionally vagrant from southern Europe and Africa), A. trux (Crescent Dart), A. vestigialis (Archer's Dart).
Noctuinae.
Illustrations. • Noctuinae: Agrotis cinerea (Light Feathered Rustic: B. Ent. 165). • Noctuinae: Agrotis cinerea: B. Ent. 165, legend+text. • Noctuinae: Agrotis cinerea: B. Ent. 165, text cont.. • British Agrotis species (1): Newman. AGROTIS. 522a-e, A. vestigialis (The Archer's Dart); 523a&b, A. puta (Shuttle-shaped Dart); 524a-c, A. ipsilon (Dark Sword-grass); 526a-c, A. segetum (Turnip Moth); 528a-c, A. trux lunigera (Crescent Dart); 529a&b, A. exclamationis (Heart and Dart). From Newman (1869). • British Agrotis species (2): Newman. AGROTIS. 530, A. clavis (Heart and Club: a-c, males, d-e females); 531, A. cinerea (Light-feathered Rustic); 532, A. ripae (Sand Dart: a normal, b an unusual var.). • Light and melanic forms of Agrotis exclamationis (Heart and Dart: photos). Agrotis exclamationis (Heart and Dart), male (above) and female. The dark variants may represent rural (non-industrial) melanism, being commonly encountered in both males and females in "natural" as well as polluted habitats.
Leek, N. Staffs., 1952. From Watson’s collection. • Larvae of Agrotis segetum (Turnip Moth): Newman. • Noctuinae: Kirby. NOCTUINAE. : 8 and 20, Xestia ditrapezium (Triple-spotted Clay); 9, Noctua janthe (Lesser Broad-border); 10, "Hiria linogrisea", cf. Epiplecta; 11, Noctua fimbria (Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing); 12, Graphiophora augur (Double Dart); 13, Spaelotis ravida (Stout Dart); 14, Noctua pronuba (Yellow Underwing); 15, Noctua orbona (Lunar Yellow Underwing); 16, Noctua comes (Lesser Yellow Underwing); 17, Xestia triangulum (Double Square Spot); 18, Xestia baja (Dotted Clay ); 19, Xestia c-nigrum (Setaceous Hebrew Character); 20, Xestia ditrapezium (Triple-spotted Clay); 21, Diarsia brunnea (Purple Clay); 22, Diarsia mendica (Ingrailed Clay); 23, Paradiarsia glareosa (Autumnal Rustic); 24, Chersotis multangula; 25, Chersotis cuprea; 26, Chersotis ocellina; 27, Ochropleura plectra (Flame Shoulder). From Kirby 34, with names updated. • Noctuinae and Hadeninae: Kirby. NOCTUINAE. 1, Rhacia simulans (True Lover's Knot); 2, Acylia putris (Flame); 3, Agrotis exclamationis (Heart and Dart); 4, Euxoa tritica (White Line Dart); 5, Agrotis ipsilon (Dark Sword-grass); 6, Agrotis segetum (Common Dart, or Turnip Moth); 7, Agrotis vestigialis (Archer's Dart); 8, Ochropleura praecox (Portland Moth); 9, Anaplectoides prasina (Green Arches); 10, Eurois occulta (Great Brocade). HADENINAE. 11, Cerapteryx graminis (Antler Moth); 12, Tholera decimalis (Feathered Gothic); 13, Pacheta sagittigera (Feathered Ear); 14, Polia bombycina (Pale Shinibg Brown); 15, Polia trimaculosa (Silvery Arches); 16, Polia nebulosa (Grey Arches); 17, Lacanobia contigua (Beautiful Brocade); 18, Ceramica pisi (Broom Moth); 19, Mamestra brassicae (Cabbage Moth); 20, Melanchra persicariae (Dot). Kirby 35. • Agrotis puta (Shuttle-shaped Dart): Stephens II, 1830. • Agrotis ripae (Sand Dart): Stephens II, 1830. • Agrotis trux lunigera (Crescent Dart): Stephens II, 1830.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genera of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae. Version: 14th February 2021. delta-intkey.com’.
