Cucullia asteris

Cucullia asteris
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Cucullia
Species:	C. asteris
Binomial name
	Cucullia asteris; (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)

Cucullia asteris, or star-wort, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found through the Palearctic including Japan.

Illustration from John Curtis's *British Entomology* Volume 5

Larva feeding on goldenrod

Technical description and variation edit

C. asteris Schiff (27 e). Forewing pale grey; costal area dull reddish brown; the cell and space beyond rufous tinged: stigmata obscure, incompletely defined by brown, the reniform with a dark curved streak at its lower end; outer line defined only below vein 2 on submedian fold where it forms a double red-brown lunule, followed by a white one beyond which is a thick brown blotch or two streaks; both the inner and outer lines are marked by very oblique dark brown streaks on inner margin; hindwing brownish, the basal half dull whitish grey with dark veins. Larva yellow green; dorsal, subdorsal, and spiracular lines yellow with black edges; head yellow brown, with black spots.^[1] The wingspan is 45–52 mm.

Biology edit

The moth flies from May to September depending on the location.

The larvae feed on Aster tripolium, goldenrod, and other Aster species.

References edit

^ Warren. W. in 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 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

External links edit

Kimber, Ian. "73.055 BF2217 Star-wort Cucullia asteris ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)". UKMoths. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
Fauna Europaea
Lepiforum e. V. (in German)
De Vlinderstichting (in Dutch)

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[1] Warren. W. in 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 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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