| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genera of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae |
Euphasia Stephens, Desmophora Stephens, Tarache Hübner
Adults. Head loosely scaled. Eyes glabrous; not ciliated. Antennae of males ciliate. Labial palps short to medium; porrect to ascending.
Wingspan 26–30 mm. Head, thorax and abdomen white. Forewings of A. lucida white, patterned beyond the median zone with fuscous and purplish; white; purplish marked or tinged; complexly patterned (dark-mottled and -marbled beyond the median zone); the patterning well marked; reniform undefined; orbicular undefined; claviform undefined. Hindwings whitish-fuscous, or fuscous, or yellowish; conspicuously patterned (with a dark terminal band); with 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 slightly crested (posteriorly). Middle tibiae without spines. Posterior tibiae with spines; with appressed scales. Abdomen crested to not crested (no more than a small basal crest).
Living adults found May and August.
Larvae, pupae. Larvae feeding on Convolvulus and Malva (A. lucida).
British representation. 3 species (two adventive). Status in Britain indigenous, adventive, and alien. South-east England, Central-southern England, South-west England, and English Midlands; A. aprica (adventive from North America), A. lucida (Pale Shoulder), A. nitidula (Brixton Beauty, probably alien, being an Asian species).
Acontiinae.
Comments. Description biased towards the native A. lucida).
Illustrations. • Acontiinae: Acontia nitidula (Brixton Beauty Moth: alien, B. Ent. 276). • Acontia nitidula: B. Ent. 276, legend+text. • Acontia nitidula: B. Ent. 276, text cont.). • The British species of Heliothidinae and Acontiinae: Newman. HELIOTHIDINAE. 1, Pyrrhia umbra (Bordered Sallow); 2, Helicoverpa armigera (Scarce Bordered Straw); 3, Heliothis viriplaca (Marbled Clover); 4, Heliothis peltigera (Bordered Straw). ACONTIINAE. 5, Lithacodia pygarga (Marbled White Spot); 6, Eustrotia uncula (Silver Hook); 7, Eublemma ostrina (Purple Marbled); 8, Eublemma parva (Small Marbled); 9, Acontia lucida (Pale Shoulder); 10, Emmelia trabealis (Spotted Sulphur). From Newman, 1869. • Acontiinae, Amphipyrinae, Hadeninae and Heliothidinae: Kirby. ACONTIINAE. 13, Acontia lucida (Pale Shoulder); 17, Eublemma minutata (Scarce Marbled); 18, Deltote bankiana (Silver Barred); 19, Eustrotia uncula (Silver Hook); 20, Lithacodia deceptoria (Pretty Marbled); 21, Lithacodia pygarga (Marbled White Spot); 22, Emmelia trabealis (Spotted Sulphur). AMPHIPYRINAE. 5, Panemeria tenebrata (Small Yellow Underwing). HADENINAE. 3, Anarta myrtilli (Beautiful Yellow Underwing); 4, Anarta cordigera (Small Dark Yellow Underwing). HELIOTHIDINAE. 8. Heliothis viriplaca (Marbled Clover); 9, Protoschinia scutosa (Spotted Clover); 10, Heliothis peltigera (Bordered Straw); 11, Periphanes delphinii (Pease Blossom); 12, Pyrrhia umbra (Bordered Sallow) . CATOCALINAE. 28, Minucia lunaris (Lunar Double Stripe). From Kirby 42.
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’.
