''Cucullia argentea'', the green silver-spangled shark, is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family (biology), family of moths. Taxonomically, they are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly ...

. The species was first described by

Johann Siegfried Hufnagel Johann Siegfried Hufnagel (17 October 1724, Uckerfelde, Falkenwalde, Prenzlau district, Brandenburg – 23 February 1795, Langenfeld, Sternberg district) was a German parson and entomologist (lepidopterist). Life Until the late 20th century nothin ...

in 1766. It is found in southern and central Europe through

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

and

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

up to

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Technical description and variation

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 28–34 mm. Forewing olive green, with silvery-white blotches: these are an oblique band near the base, a large blotch below the cell, a submarginal band interrupted above the middle, and a marginal narrow band; orbicular and reniform round and silvery white, the lower half of former and middle of latter obliterated by a darker green streak through cell; fringe white, with grey-green base; hindwing white, becoming greenish fuscous along the termen. ab. ''subcaerulea'' Stgr. ubspecies ''C. a. subcaerulea'' Staudinger, 1901(26 a), from western Siberia and western Turkestan, is paler, more bluish green. Larva dull green, with a narrow red-brown or pinkish streak on each segment; dorsal and subdorsal lines yellowish, interrupted by the streaks so as to form spots; spiracular lines yellow; spiracles yellow with black rings; head reddish. 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

Biology

The moth flies from June to August depending on the location. The larvae feed on the flowers and seeds of feeds up in autumn on the flowers and seeds ''

Artemisia campestris ''Artemisia campestris'' is a common and widespread species of plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae. It is native to a wide region of Eurasia and North America. Common names include field wormwood, beach wormwood, northern wormwood, Breckl ...

'' in sandy localities, and turn to a greenish pupa.

References

External links

''Fauna Europaea''''Lepiforum e. V.'': Taxonomy and Photos
Cucullia Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel Moths described in 1766 {{Cuculliinae-stub