Shoulder-striped Wainscot
Encyclopedia
The Shoulder-striped Wainscot (Leucania comma) is a moth
of the family Noctuidae
. Some authors place it in the genus Mythimna
. It is found throughout Europe
.
The forewings of this species share the pale buffish ground colour and prominent venation of other "wainscots" but has much stronger dark markings than most of its relatives, including a thick black basal streak which gives it its common name. The hindwings are dingy grey or brown with lighter fringes. The wingspan
is 35-42 mm. This species flies at night in June and July and is attracted to light and sugar.
The larva feeds on various grass
es including Deschampsia
and Festuca
. The species overwinters as a full-grown larva in a cell beneath the surface of the soil.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the family Noctuidae
Noctuidae
The Noctuidae or owlet moths are a family of robustly-built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera. They constitute the largest family in the Lepidoptera....
. Some authors place it in the genus Mythimna
Mythimna
Mythimna is a former municipality in the Chania peripheral unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kissamos, of which it is a municipal unit...
. It is found throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
The forewings of this species share the pale buffish ground colour and prominent venation of other "wainscots" but has much stronger dark markings than most of its relatives, including a thick black basal streak which gives it its common name. The hindwings are dingy grey or brown with lighter fringes. The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 35-42 mm. This species flies at night in June and July and is attracted to light and sugar.
The larva feeds on various grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
es including Deschampsia
Deschampsia
Deschampsia is a genus of grasses in the family Poaceae, commonly known as hair grass or tussock grass. There are 30 to 40 species....
and Festuca
Fescue
Festuce is a genus of about 300 species of perennial tufted grasses, belonging to the grass family Poaceae . The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, although the majority of the species are found in cool temperate areas...
. The species overwinters as a full-grown larva in a cell beneath the surface of the soil.
- The flight season refers to the British IslesBritish IslesThe British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
. This may vary in other parts of the range.