| Dark Arches (Apamea monoglypha (Hufnagel, 1766)) |
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Scientific name: Apamea monoglypha (Hufnagel, 1766) Common name: Dark Arches Other names: Other scientific name: Abromias monoglypha. French name: Monoglyphe, Noctuelle radicée. Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Heterocera Family: Noctuidae Subfamily: Noctuinae Wingspan: 45-55 mm. Biotope: Various habitats, often observed in parks and gardens. Geographic area: Eurasia. Flight time: May to October. Number of generations : 1 (2 in the southern part of its range). Caterpillar: Glassy whitish brown with numerous shiny black dots. The head is brown. Host plant: Roots and stems of many grasses. |
The Dark Arches is a large pale grey or pale brown noctuidae moth. You can also find very dark forms. The submarginal area of the fore wings show typical W-Shaped markings. There is a similar species, Apamea syriaca, which is very difficult to tell apart. This last one is a smaller size and shows a very dark area between the orbicular and reniform spots. These spots have not a very uniform colour and are marked with dark. On the Dark Arches, the area between the orbicular and reniform spots is not so dark and these spots are a more uniform colour, slightly paler than the wings ground colour. The Dark Arches is attracted to light. It over winters as a caterpillar. |
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I have photographed this Dark Arches in the garage where it must have been attracted to light. The large size, the lack of a very dark area between the orbicular and reniform spots and their rather uniform colour confirm the species identification. |
André Bon April 2012