Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Noctuidae Scientific name Mythimna litoralis | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Mythimna Rank Species | |
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Similar Mythimna straminea, Mythimna riparia, Mythimna ferrago, Mythimna turca, Mythimna pudorina | ||
Mythimna litoralis, the shore wainscot, is a moth of the family Noctuidae.
A strictly coastal species, it is found in Europe and Morocco in areas close to the shore. The wingspan is 36–42 mm. It is an ochre-colored moth having a distinctive white streak bordered with dark fine lines along the length of the forewing.
Technical description and variation
The wingspan is 36–42 mm.Forewing smooth pale ochreous suffused with brown except along costa;median vein white, outlined with fuscous; the nervules towards termen whitish; the terminal interspaces with brown streaks; hindwing pure white. A coast species found in Britain, Denmark, N. Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Spain.
Larva reddish yellow; dorsal line fine, pale with dark edges; subdorsal lines blackish; spiracles black on a pale lateral stripe; head and thoracic plate yellowish.The larvae are monophagous, feeding exclusively on marram (Ammophila arenaria) leaves, a plant that grows on dunes along the shoreline.