| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: the genera of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae |
Gymnopa Stephens, Heliodes Guenée
Adults. Head rough (-haired). Eyes glabrous; not ciliated. Antennae of males simple (filiform). Labial palps short; porrect (and hairy).
Wingspan 18–22 mm. Forewings light and dark mahogany brown; patterned transversely; the patterning well marked (darkened basally, medianly and terminally); reniform undefined; orbicular undefined; claviform undefined. Hindwings yellow and blackish; conspicuously patterned (the broad black marginal band contrasting with the yellow base); without a clear discal mark; without transverse lines; exhibiting vein 5. Vein 5 of the hindwings weak; arising nearer to vein 6 than to vein 4. Thorax not crested (rough-haired). Middle tibiae without spines. Posterior tibiae without spines; rough-scaled. Abdomen not crested.
Living adults found May and June.
Larvae, pupae. Larvae feeding on flowers and fruits of Cerastium vulgatum; pupating in the soil.
British representation. 1 species; South-east England, Central-southern England, South-west England, English Midlands, Northern England, Wales, and Ireland; tenebrata (Small Yellow Underwing).
Stiriinae.
Illustrations. • P. tenebrata (Small Yellow Underwing), and 14 related genera: Newman. 1, PANEMERIA tenebrata (Small Yellow Underwing); 2, Elaphria venustula (The Rosy Marbled); 3, Archanara geminipuncta (Twin-spotted Wainscot); 4(a) and (b), Archanara dissoluta (Brown-veined Wainscot); 5, Archanara algae ( Reed Wainscot); 6, Oria musculosa (Brighton Wainscot); 7, Rhizedra lutosa (Large Wainscot); 8(a)-(d), Charanyca trigrammica (Treble Lines); 9, Arenostola phragmitidis (Fen Wainscot); 10, Hoplodrina alsines (The Uncertain); 11, Hoplodrina blanda (The Rustic); 12, Caradrina morpheus (Mottled Rustic); 13, Caradrina clavipalpis (Pale Mottled Willow); 14(a)-(d), Chilodes peltigera (Silky Wainscot); 15, Stilbia anomala (The Anomalous); 16, Spodoptera exigua (Small Mottled Willow); 17, Acosmetia caliginosa (The Reddish Buff); 18, Coenobia rufa (Small Rufous); 19, Athetis pallustris (Marsh Moth). 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’.
