Genus Mythimna Rank Species | ||
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Similar Mythimna impura, Mythimna ferrago, Mythimna pallens, Mythimna conigera, Mythimna pudorina | ||
Mythimna straminea, the southern wainscot, is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found in the western parts of the Palearctic ecozone, including Morocco, Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, Israel and Lebanon.
Contents
Technical description and variation
The wingspan is 32 to 40 millimetres (1.3 to 1.6 in). Forewing pale ochreous with slight dark dusting and a faint reddish tinge;veins finely defined by brown streaks, which are also distinct in the intervals; a diffuse brown shade below median vein; outer dots on veins 2 and 5 only; hindwing whitish ochreous, grey-tinged along middle from base,with a postmedian line of dark grey dashes on veins. Three distinct aberrations are mentioned by Tutt, all apparently British; obsoleta Tutt, a very rare pale form, with all the dots of forewing absent, the median nervure pure white, and the hindwing white without dots; in rufolinea Tutt the coloration is bright rufous, so that the forewing appears to consist of alternate fine lines of red and white; lastly in nigrostriata Tutt the coloration is blackish, the wing appearing to be a succession of black and white lines; the shade beneath median vein is almost black, and the hindwing is much darker; the majority of these darker forms are males.
Biology
The moth flies from June to August depending on the location.
Larva ochreous with grey freckles; lines paler edged with dark grey; subspiracular line paler.The larvae feed on Phragmites and Phalaris.
