Tyta

Tyta luctuosa
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Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Hexapoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Noctuidae
Tribe:	Tytini Beck, 1996
Genus:	Tyta Billberg, 1820
Species:	T. luctuosa
Binomial name
Tyta luctuosa (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)

Tyta luctuosa is a noctuid ("owlet") moth. Its common names include four-spotted moth and field bindweed moth. It is the only member of the genus Tyta, which forms a hitherto monotypic tribe Tytini in the Catocalinae subfamily.

File:Tyta luctuosa larva.jpg

Caterpillar

This moth is native to much of Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The adult moth is about eleven millimeters long and dark brown with one large white spot on each of its four wings. Two adult generations emerge each year, one in late spring and one in summer. In warm areas there is often a third generation. The female lays about 400 to 500 eggs. The larva is a brown caterpillar. The larva is the destructive stage. It eats leaves and flowers, especially new buds. This is the desired effect of this moth when it is used as an agent of biological pest control against field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis). It was first introduced into the United States in the 1980s to attack this agricultural weed, which is its main foodplant.

References

• Coombs, E. M., et al., Eds. (2004). Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the United States. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 155.

External links

• European Butterflies and Moths by Chris Jonko
• USACE Biocontrol Profile
• Action Plan for UK Native Moth