Sandhill Rustic

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Sandhill Rustic
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Luperina
Species: L. nickerlii
Binomial name
Luperina nickerlii
(Freyer, 1845)

The Sandhill Rustic Luperina nickerlii is a noctuid moth found in various parts of western and central Europe with several subspecies.

The Sandhill Rustic in Britain

In Britain, it flies in one generation between late July and late September and is represented by three subspecies:[1]

Subspecies demuthi

Found on the coasts of Kent, Essex and Suffolk

Subspecies gueneei

Found in coastal sandhills in North Wales and Lancashire

Subspecies leechi

Subspecies leechi, is found on Loe Bar, Cornwall, the shingle beach which separates Loe Pool from the sea. Two pupae, found in the sand, by Barry Goater and Michael Leech in September, 1974 was the first sign of this previously unknown subspecies.[2] The female moth is reluctant to fly and rarely appears at light; behaviour that has presumably evolved as an adaptation to its windswept habitat. With only one known population ssp. leechi is a Biodiversity Action Plan species (BAP), is listed in the Red Data Book (RDB1) and a species account is given in the Cornish RDB.[3]

The larvae feed on the stem and roots of Sand Couch, Elytrigia juncea, from September to the following July.[4][5]

The Sandhill Rustic in Ireland

In Ireland, Sandhill Rustic is represented by the subspecies knilli, which occurs only in County Kerry.

References

  1. ↑ Waring, P. and Townsend M. (2003). Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland. Hook: British Wildlife Publishing.
  2. ↑ Smith, F.H.N. (1997) The Moths and Butterflies of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Wallingford: Gem Publishing Company.
  3. ↑ Spalding, A., Truscott, L.A.C. and Worth, J. (2009) Moths and Butterflies. In CISBFR, Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition. Praze-an-Beeble: Croceago Press.
  4. ↑ Porter J. (1997) The Colour Identification Guide to Caterpillars of the British Isles. London: Penguin Group.
  5. ↑ "Robinson, G. S., P. R. Ackery, I. J. Kitching, G. W. Beccaloni & L. M. Hernández, 2010. HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London.". 

External links


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