Tribe Orthosiini Rank Species | Genus Orthosia Higher classification Orthosia | |
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Similar Orthosia, Orthosia cruda, Butterflies and moths, Noctuidae, Orthosia gracilis | ||
Orthosia miniosa, the blossom underwing, is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found in Europe.
Contents
Technical description and variation
The wingspan is 31–36 mm. The length of the forewings is 15–17 mm. Forewing sandy rufous, black-speckled, median area generally deeper rufous: lines browner, edged with pale, the outer dentate-lunulate; stigmata with yellowish outlines and grey centres: submarginal line rufous and yellowish: hindwing white, rosy-tinged along termen; cellspot, outer line, and veins sometimes well-marked;- rubricosa Esp. is the form in which the red of the median area is most emphasised; — pallida Tutt is greyish ochreous, with hardly a vestige of rufous: in virgata Tutt, while the basal and marginal areas are grey, the median space is rufous.
Biology
The moth flies in one generation from the end of March to mid-May [1].
Larva pale or dark blue grey; dorsal and subdorsal lines yellow; the sides black with a yellow spiracular line, marked with a white spot on each segment; head whitish with coarse blackish mottling. The larvae feed on various trees and shrubs, mainly oak.
