Gothic (moth)

The Gothic (Naenia typica) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is distributed in temperate Eurasia, in the Palearctic realm, including Europe, Turkey, Iran, Caucasus, Armenia, Transcaucasia, Central Asia, Altai mountains, and west and central Siberia.

Gothic
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Naenia
Species:
N. typica
Binomial name
Naenia typica

The forewings are broader than those of most other noctuids, and blackish with a network of fine white lines. The pattern is supposedly reminiscent of some elements of Gothic architecture. The hindwings are grey. The species flies at night in June and July in the British Isles. It sometimes comes to light but is not generally strongly attracted. By contrast, it is strongly attracted to sugar and flowers.

Technical description and variation
For a key to the terms used, see Glossary of entomology terms.

This species has a wingspan of 36 to 46 mm. Forewing brownish fuscous, the veins pale; edges of the upper stigmata whitish; the cell blackish; lines pale with dark edges; hindwing brownish fuscous. The form issyca Püng, from Issykkul, is redder, and has the termen less crenulate. — brunnea Tutt has the ground colour ochreous brown with the veins pale ochreous instead of white.[1]

Biology

Larva greenish grey, darker dorsally, with subdorsal black patches and a row of indistinct pale oblique streaks along the sides; spiracular line pale, pinkish ochreous, broadly black edged above; ventral surface yellowish. It is gregarious when young. It is polyphagous, feeding on a wide range of plants, such as burdock, Artemisia, mustards, Buddleja, marigold, chrysanthemum, hawthorn, Cyclamen, silverberry, fireweed, forsythia, hop, lettuce, Lepisanthes, apple, Parthenocissus, plantain, Prunus, pear, rhododendron, willow, spinach, dandelion, coltsfoot, and nettle.[2] This species overwinters as a larva.

Notes
  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.

References
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