| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genera of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae |
Actebia Stephens, Hapalia Hübner, Ogygia Hübner
Adults. Head rough. Face without any conspicuous prominence. Eyes glabrous; not ciliated. Antennae of males ciliate.
Wingspan 28–52 mm. Thorax coloured like the forewings, the abdomen more like the hindwings. Forewings fuscous, ochreous and blackish, rich purplish brown, or (in O. praecox) bluish green; ochreous, or purple, purplish, red, pinkish or rosy, or pale fuscous, or fuscous, or blackish; patterned transversely, or complexly patterned; the patterning well marked; reniform defined; orbicular defined; claviform defined, or undefined. Hindwings white, or whitish, or fuscous; plain, or terminally darkened; with a clear discal mark, or without a clear discal mark; without transverse lines; 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.
Larvae, pupae. Larvae somewhat posteriorly humped (in O. plecta), or posteriorly rounded; feeding on diverse Dicots - Galium, Artemisia, Salix, etc. - and grasses; pupating on the surface of the ground, or in the soil.
British representation. 5 species (2 adventives); South-east England, Central-southern England, South-west England, English Midlands, Northern England, Southern Scotland, Northern Scotland, Wales, and Ireland; fennica* (Eversmann’s Rustic), flammatra* (Black Collar), leucogaster (Radford’s Flame Shoulder, very rare migrant), plecta (Flame Shoulder), praecox (= Actebia: Portland Moth). O. praecox and O. fennica are referred by Bradley (2000) to Actebia.
Noctuinae.
Illustrations. • Noctuinae: O. pracox (Portland Moth) and O. fennica (Eversmann’s Rustic), with 10 related genera: Newman. 1, Actinotia polyodon (The Purple Cloud); 2, Axylia putris (The Flame); 3, Rhyacia simulans (Dotted Rustic); 4, Eugnorisma glareosa (Autumnal Rustic); 5, Paradiarsia (Protolampra) sobrina (Cousin German); 6, Lycophotia porphyrea (True Lovers' Knot); 7, OCHROPLEURA praecox (Portland Moth); 8, Ochropleura fennica (Eversmann's Rustic); 9, Eugnorisma depuncta (Plain Clay); 10(a) and (b), Standfussiana lucernea (Northern Rustic); 11, Ochropleura flammatra (The Black Collar); 12, Ochropleura plecta (Flame Shoulder); 13, Eugraphe subrosea (Rosy Marsh Moth); 14, Spaelotis ravida (Stout Dart); 15, Graphiphora augur (Double Dart). From Newman (1869). • 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 Shining 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). From Kirby 35. • Noctuinae: Actebia praecox (Portland Moth, Portland Dart: B. Ent. 539). • Actebia praecox: B. Ent. 539, legend+text. • Actebia praecox: B. Ent. 539, text cont..
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’.
