Grey dagger
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Distinguish".
Script error: No such module "Autotaxobox".| Script error: No such module "Automated taxobox". | |
|---|---|
| Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found. | |
| Scientific classification Edit this classification | |
| Script error: No such module "Taxobox ranks".: | <div style="display:inline" class="script error: no such module "taxobox ranks".">Template:Taxon infoTemplate:Taxon italics |
| Binomial name | |
| Template:Taxon infoTemplate:Taxon italics | |
| Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found. | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Page Template:Taxobox/core/styles.css has no content.Template:Taxonbar/candidateTemplate:Speciesbox/parameterCheckScript error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".
The grey dagger (Acronicta psi) is a moth of the family Noctuidae.
Distribution
This species can be found from Europe[1] and North Africa to northern Iran, central Asia, southern and central Siberia and Mongolia. In the Levant it is found in Lebanon and Israel.
Habitat
These moths mainly inhabit deciduous forests, hedgerows, parks and gardens, at an elevation up to 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) above sea level.[2]
Description
Acronicta psi has a wingspan of Template:Cvt.[3] These moths have grey forewings with bold black dagger-shaped markings. (The Latin specific name also refers to these markings, as resembling the Greek letter Script error: No such module "lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang"..)[3] The hindwings are dirty grey, generally paler in the male.
The moth is very similar to the dark dagger (Acronicta tridens) and identification is generally only possible by minute examination of the genitalia.[3] See Townsend et al.[4] However, in general this moth is generally darker in colour than the dark dagger and always lacks the white hindwings often present in the male of that species. Moreover, the larvae of the two species are very different.
The larva of Acronicta psi is quite hairy, greyish or brownish below and black above, with red spots along the sides and a bold yellow stripe along the back. It has a distinctive horn just behind the head (absent from the larva of dark dagger).
Biology
The grey dagger flies at night from June to August[a][3] and is attracted to light and sometimes to sugar.
It feeds on a wide range of plants, mainly trees and shrubs (see list below). The species overwinters as a pupa.
Food plants
Recorded food plants include:[5]
Page Template:Div col/styles.css has no content.
- Acer platanoides – Norway maple
- Aegopodium podagraria – ground-elder
- Alnus glutinosa, Alnus incana – alder
- Amelanchier spicata
- Betula verrucosa, Betula pubescens – birch
- Corylus avellana – hazel
- Cotoneaster
- Crataegus oxyacantha, Crataegus coccinea – hawthorn
- Hedlundia hybrida (formerly Sorbus hybrida, and S. fennica)
- Malus domestica – apple
- Photinia – red robin
- Populus tremula, Populus suaveolens – poplar spp.
- Prunus domestica, Prunus cerasus, Prunus avium, Prunus padus
- Pyrus communis – pear
- Quercus robur – oak
- Rosa – rose
- Rubus idaeus – bramble
- Salix caprea, Salix phylicifolia – willow
- Sorbus aucuparia; Sorbus intermedia; Hedlundia hybrida (formerly Sorbus hybrida, and S. fennica)
- Spiraea salicifolia
- Tilia – lime
- Ulmus glabra – elm
Gallery
-
Half-grown caterpillar of Acronicta psi feeding on Rosa canina
-
Mature larva feeding on a Japanese cherry tree in early autumn
-
Mature larva in early autumn
-
Pupa
-
Imago. Mounted specimen
Notes
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of their range.
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ Fauna europaea
- ^ UK Safari
- ^ a b c d UK Moths
- ^ Martin C. Townsend, Jon Clifton and Brian Goodey (2010). British and Irish Moths: An Illustrated Guide to Selected Difficult Species. (covering the use of genitalia characters and other features) Butterfly Conservation.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Acronicta". Funet.
Bibliography
- Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
- Skinner, Bernard Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984
External links
Page Module:Side box/styles.css has no content.Page Template:Sister project/styles.css has no content.
- Lepiforum.de Template:In lang
- Paolo Mazzei, Diego Reggianti, Ilaria Pimpinelli Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
- Svenska fjärila Template:In lang
Script error: No such module "Taxonbar".
.JPG){kind=link}
