Amphipoea oculea

Amphipoea oculea, the ear moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761 and it is found in most of the Palearctic realm.

Mounted

Amphipoea oculea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Amphipoea
Species:	A. oculea
Binomial name
Amphipoea oculea (Linnaeus, 1761)
Synonyms
Phalaena Noctua oculea Linnaeus, 1761 Phalaena Noctua nictitans Linnaeus, 1761 Noctua chrysographa Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 Phalaena Noctua splendens Borkhausen, 1792 Noctua myopa Fabricius, 1794 Noctua cinerago Fabricius, 1794 Noctua auricula Donovan, 1807 Noctua erythrostigma Haworth, 1809 Apamea oculea var. struvei Oberthür, 1818

The wingspan is 29–34 mm. Forewing pale or dark ferruginous brown; the veins brown; inner and outer lines double, brown, wide apart; the inner curved outwards between, and toothed inwards on, the veins; the outer with the inner arm thin, lunulate-dentate, the outer thick, continuous and parallel; a thick dark median shade running between the stigmata; submarginal line indistinct, waved, angled on vein 7, above which it is preceded by a dark costal patch; orbicular stigma rounded, orange, with a brown ring; reniform white, with the veins across it brown and containing on the discocellular a brown-outlined lunule, of which the centre is yellowish; the colour with brown outline; hindwing fuscous grey, paler towards base; the fringe rufous tinged.[1]

Adults are found from June to September depending on the location. There is one generation per year.

Habitat, Ireland

Figs 2 young larva 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d larva after last moult

The larvae feed on the stems and roots of various grasses and low plants, including Petasites hybridus.[2]