Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
896
897
896
Dot moth (
Melanchra persicariae
).
897
Larva of dot moth (
Melanchra persicariae
).
899
898
898
Gothic moth (
Naenia typica
).
899
Larva of gothic moth (
Naenia typica
).
Naenia typica
(Linnaeus) (
898-899
)
Gothic moth
An occasionally troublesome pest of herbaceous plants,
shrubs and young trees, including
Chrysanthemum
,
crab-apple (
Malus
), flowering cherry (
Prunus
) and
Rhododendron
; infestations also occur under glass, as
on
Chrysanthemum
,
Fuchsia
,
Geranium
and other pot
plants. Eurasiatic. Widespread in Europe.
hind wings greyish brown.
Larva:
up to 45 mm long;
light green or light brown, with darker chevron-like
markings on the back and sides, and a thin, pale, dorsal
stripe; prothoracic plate with distinct dorsal and
subdorsal lines; eighth abdominal segment with a bluntly
pointed hump.
Pupa:
22-24 mm long; dark chestnut-
brown; cremaster with two divergent, barb-tipped spines.
LIFE HISTORY
Adults occur form June to August. Eggs are laid on
leaves of various plants, and hatch in about eight days.
Larvae feed slowly from July onwards, and usually
complete their development in September or October.
They then enter the soil to pupate in flimsy cocoons.
Moths emerge in the following summer.
DESCRIPTION
Adult:
36-46 mm wingspan; fore wings whitish brown,
suffused with blackish brown, each marked with pale
stigmata and crosslines, the reniform stigma enclosing a
pale line; hind wings brownish grey.
Larva:
up to
45 mm long; greyish brown, flecked with darker brown,
the sides marked with pale oblique streaks and a pinkish,
undulating spiracular line edged above by black; second
and third thoracic segments with a pair of creamy-white
spots; seventh and eighth abdominal segments each with
distinctive, black, oblique markings; pinacula whitish;
head pale brownish, marked with brown.
Pupa:
15-18 mm long; dark chestnut-brown; cremaster with a
pair of downwardly curved, convergent spines.
DAMAGE
Larvae devour large amounts of foliage and rapidly strip
the leaves from host plants. But injury is usually important
only on young plants or where numbers of larvae are large.
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