British Insects: the Genera of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae
British Insects: the Genera of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae |
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Eyes glabrous; ciliated.
Wingspan about 40–44 mm (limbirena). Forewings shiny, rich purplish grey-brown, with shining silvery-white median marks; purplish marked or tinged; complexly patterned; the patterning well marked; predominantly shining-metallic, or exhibiting metallic-enamelled effects; reniform undefined; orbicular defined. Hindwings whitish-fuscous and grey, or fuscous and grey; terminally darkened; without a clear discal mark; without transverse lines; exhibiting vein 5. Vein 5 of the hindwings strong; arising nearer to vein 4 than to vein 6; convergent on vein 4 near their bases. Middle tibiae without spines. Abdomen crested.
Living adults found in September.
Larvae, pupae. Ventral prolegs 4, or 6 (?). Larvae feeding on Salvia, Verbascum, Althaea; pupating on vegetative parts of the foodplant (?).
General comments. Head and thorax coloured like the forewings, the abdomen lighter like the hindwings.
British representation. 2 species (both adventive); South-east England and Central-southern England; accentifera*, limbirena* (Scar Bank Gem).
Classification. Plusiinae.
Illustrations: • Adventive or casual Plusiinae.
To view the illustrations with detailed captions, go to the interactive key. This also offers 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.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the genera of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae. Version: 9th June 2008. http://delta-intkey.com’.
