| Dotted rustic | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Noctuidae |
| Genus: | Rhyacia |
| Species: | R. simulans |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhyacia simulans (Hufnagel, 1766) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Rhyacia simulans, thedotted rustic, is amoth of the familyNoctuidae. The species wasfirst described byJohann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found in most of Europe, south toMorocco,Algeria andTunisia, east toTurkey, theCaucasus,Tomsk andMinusinsk.
Thewingspan is 45–60 mm. It is likeEpipsilia latens Hbn. but larger; the forewing paler, the stigmata with distinct pale and dark outlines.pyrophila Schiff. is ochreous grey;suffusa Tutt is darker, the forewing being blackish grey; —latens Stph. is unicolorous black, with still more intense markings.[1]Grey or greyish-brown moth. The forewing is pale grey or greyish-brown with small, black-edged kidney and ring markings and more or less distinct, double, dark intermediate lines that delimit the central field of the wing. The outer edge is usually a little lighter than the rest in dark specimens. The hind wing is grey.[2]
Adults are on wing from June to September.
Larva dark brown; the subdorsal area brownish-tannish peach; dorsal line thin, pale, edged with black; a row of dorsal V-shaped marks; an interrupted white lateral stripe.
The larvae feed onGramineae,Rumex andTaraxacum species.[3]