Mythimna litoralis

Shore wainscot
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Mythimna
Species: M. litoralis
Binomial name
Mythimna litoralis
Curtis, 1827

Mythimna litoralis, the shore wainscot, is a moth of the family Noctuidae.

Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 5

A strictly coastal species,[1] it is found in Europe and Morocco but only in areas close to the shore.

The wingspan is 36–42 mm. It is an ochre-colored moth having a distinctive white streak bordered with dark fine lines along the length of the forewing.

Technical description and variation

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

The wingspan is 36–42 mm.Forewing smooth pale ochreous suffused with brown except along costa;median vein white, outlined with fuscous; the nervules towards termen whitish; the terminal interspaces with brown streaks; hindwing pure white. A coast species found in Britain, Denmark, N. Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Spain. [2]

Larva reddish yellow; dorsal line fine, pale with dark edges; subdorsal lines blackish; spiracles black on a pale lateral stripe; head and thoracic plate yellowish.The larvae are monophagous, feeding exclusively on marram (Ammophila arenaria) leaves, a plant that grows on dunes along the shoreline.[3]

References

  1. Shore Wainscot Mythimna litoralis - UKmoths
  2. 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
  3. "Robinson, G. S., P. R. Ackery, I. J. Kitching, G. W. Beccaloni & L. M. Hernández, 2010. HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London.".
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