''Euxoa decora'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

. It is found in southern and central

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, the

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Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, Issyk-Kul,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Description

It has a typical

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

of 38–41 mm. Warren states ''E. decora'' Schiff. ( ''nebulosa'' Hbn., ''marcens'' Chr.) (6d). Forewing dull ashgrey, sometimes with a brownish or ochreous tinge; lines dark, often obscure; stigmata pale, sometimes ochreous; claviform, when present , yellowish ; hindwing dull fuscous , with the base paler in male. Common on the Mountains of Central Europe and in Armenia; — in ab. ''livida'' Stgr. (6d) the ground colour is dark purplish grey and the stigmata well-defined; the orbicular round and sometimes filled up with ochreous. 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

Subspecies

*''Euxoa decora decora'' (eastern part of the Alps and adjacent regions in the east, northern Italy) *''Euxoa decora simulatrix'' (western Alps, Pyrenees) *''Euxoa decora splendida'' (Italy (Abruzzi)) *''Euxoa decora macedonica'' (southern Yugoslasvia, north-western and southern Greece) *''Euxoa decora olympica'' (central Greece (Olympus and Grammos Mountains)) *''Euxoa decora hackeri'' (northern Greece (Mount Phalakron))

Biology

Each generation of adults are on wing from July to September, and larvae feed on a wide range of low growing plants, including '' Anthyllis vulneraria''.

References

External links

Fauna Europaea
Euxoa Moths of Europe Moths described in 1775 {{Euxoa-stub