The wingspan is 24–28 mm. This species is extremely similar to the marbled minor (Oligia strigilis) and the tawny marbled minor (Oligia latruncula) and specific identification usually requires close study of the genitalia. See Townsend et al.[1] for genitalia images and an identification key.O. versicolor has a wingspan of 23–28 mm and often has more brightly coloured forewings than its congeners with rich reddish-brown tones and a grey subterminal band. There is also often one or more tufts of reddish hairs on the thorax, always lacking in its congeners. Although melanism occurs in this species it is much less frequent than in the other two species. O. versicolor flies at night in June and July[1] and is attracted to light and sugar. It prefers moist areas. These include, for example, meadows, moors, wet heath and fen, woodland areas, sometimes sandy soils, but not strongly xerothermic habitats.
The larva feeds internally on the stems of various grasses (including Carex species, Luzula luzoloides, Bracilypodium sylvaticum and Poa pratensis),[2]pupating in a cocoon among the roots. This species overwinters as a larva.
^The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.
Referencesedit
^Martin C. Townsend, Jon Clifton and Brian Goodey, 2010 British and Irish Moths: An Illustrated Guide to Selected Difficult Species (covering the use of genitalia characters and other features) Butterfly Conservation pdf
^Robinson, Gaden S.; Ackery, Phillip R.; Kitching, Ian J.; Beccaloni, George W.; Hernández, Luis M. (2010). "Search the database - introduction and help". HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London.
oligia, versicolor, rufous, minor, species, moth, belonging, family, noctuidae, species, first, described, moritz, balthasar, borkhausen, 1792, distributed, throughout, europe, from, bulgaria, caucasus, south, north, found, southern, scotland, southern, sweden. Oligia versicolor the rufous minor is a species of moth belonging to the family Noctuidae The species was first described by Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen in 1792 It is distributed throughout Europe from Bulgaria up to the Caucasus in the south In the north it is found in southern Scotland southern Sweden and Estonia through Europe to central Spain southern Italy Rufous minor Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Arthropoda Class Insecta Order Lepidoptera Superfamily Noctuoidea Family Noctuidae Genus Oligia Species O versicolor Binomial name Oligia versicolor Borkhausen 1792 The wingspan is 24 28 mm This species is extremely similar to the marbled minor Oligia strigilis and the tawny marbled minor Oligia latruncula and specific identification usually requires close study of the genitalia See Townsend et al 1 for genitalia images and an identification key O versicolor has a wingspan of 23 28 mm and often has more brightly coloured forewings than its congeners with rich reddish brown tones and a grey subterminal band There is also often one or more tufts of reddish hairs on the thorax always lacking in its congeners Although melanism occurs in this species it is much less frequent than in the other two species O versicolor flies at night in June and July 1 and is attracted to light and sugar It prefers moist areas These include for example meadows moors wet heath and fen woodland areas sometimes sandy soils but not strongly xerothermic habitats The larva feeds internally on the stems of various grasses including Carex species Luzula luzoloides Bracilypodium sylvaticum and Poa pratensis 2 pupating in a cocoon among the roots This species overwinters as a larva The flight season refers to the British Isles This may vary in other parts of the range References edit Martin C Townsend Jon Clifton and Brian Goodey 2010 British and Irish Moths An Illustrated Guide to Selected Difficult Species covering the use of genitalia characters and other features Butterfly Conservation pdf Robinson Gaden S Ackery Phillip R Kitching Ian J Beccaloni George W Hernandez Luis M 2010 Search the database introduction and help HOSTS A Database of the World s Lepidopteran Hostplants Natural History Museum London Skinner Bernard 1984 The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oligia versicolor Rufous Minor at UKmoths Savela Markku Oligia versicolor Borkhausen 1792 Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms Retrieved 4 July 2019 Lepiforum e V Includes photographs of genitalia De Vlinderstichting in Dutch Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oligia versicolor amp oldid 1048410871, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
