| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genera of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae |
Adults. Head rough. Eyes glabrous; ciliated. Antennae of males ciliate.
Wingspan 26–32 mm. Head and thorax coloured like the forewings, abdomen lighter and like the hindwings. Forewings light grey in C. platyptera, light grey and olive grey in C. lunula; pale grey, or grey, or greenish and pale grey; complexly patterned; the patterning well marked, or obscure (C. platyptera); reniform defined, or undefined; orbicular defined, or undefined; claviform defined, or undefined (C. platyptera seemingly lacking stigmata). Hindwings white and grey, or whitish and grey; terminally darkened; without a clear discal mark; transversely lined, or without transverse lines; exhibiting vein 5. Vein 5 of the hindwings weak; arising nearer to vein 6 than to vein 4. Thorax crested (strongly medianly and posteriorly). Posterior tibiae without spines. Abdomen not crested.
Living adults found May and June, or August and September.
Larvae, pupae. Larvae feeding on Linaria, Antirrhinum; pupating on the surface of the ground, or in the soil (?).
British representation. 2 species. Status in Britain seemingly indigenous (C. lunula), or alien. South-east England; C. lunula (Toadflax Brocade), C. platyptera (Antirrhinum Brocade, with only an 1896 record from Brighton).
Cuculliinae.
Illustrations. • C. lunula (Toadflax Brocade) and C. platyptera (Antirrhinum Brocade), with Lithophane and Meganephria: Newman. 1, Lithophane semibrunnea (Tawny Pinion); 2, Lithophane hepatica (Pale Pinion); 3, Lithophane ornitopus (Grey Shoulder-knot); 4, Lithophane furcifera (The Conformist); 5(a) and (b), Lithophane lambda (The Nonconformist); 6, Meganephria bimaculosa (Double-spot Brocade); 7, Calophasia lunula (Toadflax Brocade); 8, Calophasia platyptera (Antirrhinum Brocade). From Newman, 1869. • Cuculliinae: Kirby. CUCULLIINAE. 1, Xanthia gilvago (Dusky Lemon Sallow); 2, Jodia croceago (Orange Upper-wing); 3, “Mecoptera fragariae”, = ?; 4, Conistra erythrocephala (Red-headed Chestnut); 5, “Orrhodia silene”, = ?; 6, Conistra vacciniae (Chestnut); 7, Conistra rubiginea (Dotted Chestnut); 8, Eupsilia transversa (Satellite); 10, Lithophane socia (Pale Pinion); 11, Lithophane furcifera; 12, Lithophane ornitopus (Grey Shoulder-knot); 13, Xylena vetusta (Red Sword-Grass); 14, Xylena exsoleta (Sword-Grass); 15, Lithomoia solidaginis (Golden-rod Brindle); 17, Brachionycha nebulosa (Rannoch Sprawler); 18, Brachionycha sphinx (Sprawler); 19, Calophasia opalina; 20, Calophasia lunula (Toadflax Brocade). OPHIDERINAE. 9, Scoliopteryx libatrix (Herald). From Kirby 37, with updated names. • Larvae and pupae of C. lunula and Periphanes delphinii: Duponchel and Guénée (1849). Noctuidae. 1, Periphanes delphinii (Pease Blossom). 2, Calophasia lunula (Toadflax Brocade). Duponchel and Guénée, 1849.
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’.
