Acronicta strigosa

Acronicta strigosa
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Acronicta
Species:	A. strigosa
Binomial name
	Acronicta strigosa; (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
Synonyms
	Noctua strigosa Denis & Schiffermuller 1775; Phalaena Noctua favillacea Esper 1775; Acronicta terrigena Graeser 1892;

Acronicta strigosa, the marsh dagger, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed through the whole of Europe, east to the Caucasus, northern China, Korea and Japan.

Technical description and variation

A. strigosa F. (= favillacea Esp.) (3e). Forewing pale grey, tinged with ochreous; base of inner margin yellow: reniform stigma externally yellowish; a broken black streak along submedian fold. Larva velvety green, with broad redbrown dorsal band; hairs scattered and fine; dorsum humped on segment 12; like the larva of Cerura , which it resembles superficially in colour and ornamentation, it changes from green to dull purplish before spinning up; fullfed in autumn; on hawthorn, which is its only foodplant in Britain, though continental writers give sloe and Rhamnus. — ab. bryophiloides Horm. (— casparii Steinert) (3 e) is a smaller form with the forewings wholly dark grey. -- Japanese specimens are considerably larger than European and much darker; the stigmata more strongly indicated, and the black dashes thicker; they may be distinguished as adaucta subsp. nov. (3e).^[2]The wingspan is approximately 32 mm.

Biology

The adults fly in June and July.^[1] They are attracted to light.

The larvae feed mainly on hawthorn and sometimes blackthorn.

Notes

^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.

References

^ Kimber, Ian (2011). "Marsh Dagger Acronicta strigosa". UK Moths. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
^ Warren. W. in Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde, Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

External links

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[UKmoths-1] Kimber, Ian (2011). "Marsh Dagger Acronicta strigosa". UK Moths. Retrieved 6 April 2011.

[2] Warren. W. in Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde, Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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