Agrochola lota

Agrochola lota
File:Agrochola lota FvL.jpg
Living
File:Agrochola lota.jpg
Mounted
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Agrochola
Species:	A. lota
Binomial name
Agrochola lota Clerck, 1759

The Red-line Quaker (Agrochola lota) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout the whole of Europe except Scandinavia; in Armenia, Asia Minor, and East across the Palearctic to the Altai mountains and West Siberia.

Description

Forewing grey brown or leaden grey, often with a reddish tinge; inner and outer lines double, conversely lunulate-dentate, but rarely visible; a thick darkmedian shade; stigmata grey, with pinkish annuli edged with rufous, the lower half of reniform black; submarginal line nearly straight but angled on vein 7, pale with rufous inward edging; hindwing dark grey, with cellspot and submarginal cloud showing darker; the reddish examples in which the grey tints have entirely given place to rufous, form the ab. rufa Tutt ; in rare cases the grey is darkened into black; this is ab. suffusa Tutt from Ireland; an equally rare form from England, in which the ground colour is whitish grey is pallida Tutt; in a form from Amasia, ab. subdita ab.nov.[Warren] the grey ground is duller and paler in both wings, and the black in lower lobe of reniform is much reduced.

This moth flies from September to October and is attracted to light.

The young caterpillars feed on the catkins of sallow and willow (Salix), progressing to eating leaves when mature. They hide in spun leaves by day and feed at night.

Gallery

• Agrochola lota larva2.jpg

  Larva

• Agrochola lota pupae.jpg

  Pupae

• Agrochola lota pupa-cocoon.jpg

  Pupa and cocoon

External links

• Funet