Apamea furva

Apamea furva, the confused, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found throughout Europe. In southwestern Europe it is primarily montane. It is found as far north as the Arctic Circle. From Europe its range extends to Siberia, Turkey, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Xinjiang in China.

Confused
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Apamea
Species:
A. furva
Binomial name
Apamea furva
Synonyms
  • Noctua furva Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775
  • Phalaena (Noctua) impressa Esper, 1804
  • Noctua freyeri Boie, 1835
  • Mamestra infernalis Eversmann, 1842
  • Mamestra gemmosa Herrich-Schäffer, 1855
  • Mamestra furva f. italica Turati & Verity, 1911
  • Apamea furva britannica Cockayne, 1950

The population in Great Britain and Ireland is sometimes treated as a subspecies, Apamea furva britannica.

For a key to the terms used, see Glossary of entomology terms.

The wingspan is 34–42 mm. Forewing varying from brownish to blackish fuscous, more or less dusted with grey or whitish scales, especially along the costa and inner margin and along the veins; lines conversely edged with pale; claviform stigma black-edged, or filled in with black; orbicular grey, with pale ring and black outline, often obscure; reniform always whiter, especially on outer edge; submarginal line whitish, waved, always preceded by distinct black wedge-shaped marks; the brown fringe finely cut by pale dashes; hindwing smoky grey, the terminal half smoky fuscous; veins and cellspot darker; the blackish fuscous forms, still with paler dusting, are ab. freyeri [Boie] and infernalis Ev. the latter being the darker.[1]

Adults are on wing from July to August.

The larvae feed on the roots and stem bases of various grasses, including meadowgrasses, fescues, slimstem reedgrass, and wavy hairgrass.[2]

References
  1. 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
  2. Robinson, Gaden S.; Ackery, Phillip R.; Kitching, Ian J.; Beccaloni, George W.; Hernández, Luis M. (2010). "Search the database - introduction and help". HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London.


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