British Insects: the Genera of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae
British Insects: the Genera of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae | |
Including Thysanoplusia Ichinose.
Head rough. Eyes glabrous; ciliated. Antennae of males shortly ciliate. Tongue well developed. Labial palps medium to long; ascending.
Wingspan 34–54 mm. Forewings light to dark brown or purplish, with large brassy fasciae; patterned transversely, or longitudinally streaked, or complexly patterned; the patterning well marked; predominantly shining-metallic; reniform defined to undefined; orbicular defined to undefined (the stigmata faint). Hindwings dark fuscous, or fuscous and pinkish; plain; 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. Thorax crested. Middle tibiae without spines. Posterior tibiae with spines; rough-scaled. Abdomen crested.
Living adults found June to August.
Larvae, pupae. Ventral prolegs 4. Larvae posteriorly humped to posteriorly rounded; feeding on Urtica, Lamium, Arctium, Eupatorium; pupating on vegetative parts of the foodplant.
General comments. Head and thorax brown or purplish brown, the dark-crested abdomen lighter and coloured like the hindwings.
British representation. 3 species; South-east England, Central-southern England, South-west England, English Midlands, Northern England, Southern Scotland, Northern Scotland, Wales, and Ireland; chrysitis (Burnished Brass), chryson (Scarce Burnished Brass), orichalcea (Slender Burnished Brass, = Thysanoplusia).
Classification. Plusiinae.
Illustrations: • The British species, with 5 other genera of Plusiinae. • Diachrysia chrysitis (Burnished Brass, with other Plusiinae: photos). • Cuculliinae (1–12), Plusiinae (13–26): Kirby 41.
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’.
