The wingspan is 32–34 mm. The length of the forewings is 13–15 mm. Forewing greyish ochreous, sometimes uniformly washed with brownish; the lines and stigmata dark grey, the latter with pale annuli; submarginal line luteous preceded by a dark grey shade; hindwing dirty pale grey in male, darker in female, and darker in both sexes in the brown suffused forms: - the form sericea Speyer, from Holland and Germany, is described as having narrower silky grey forewings; -in [now full species levis Stgr.], from W. Turkestan and Asia Minor, the yellower ochreous tint is predominant and the dark markings are conspicuous but in some pale examples from Segovia, Spain- ab. ochrea ab. nov. [Warren] the dark markings tend to become effaced, the head, thorax, and forewings being pale yellow ochreous - amurensis Stgr. indicates small dark examples from Ussuri, Amurland.[1]
Similar to and confused with Hoplodrina octogenaria and Hoplodrina blanda. Certain identification requires dissection of the genitalia.See Townsend et al.[2]
Larva
Biology
The moth flies in two generations from early May to mid-October. [1].
Larva clay coloured, darker dorsally: the dorsal line itself fine and white with dark edges; the subdorsal also fine and pale; laterally a pale dark edged serrate line containing the spiracles. The larvae are polyphagous feeding on various herbaceous plants including Beta vulgaris, Cynara scolymus, Medicago sativa and Taraxacum officinale.[3]
Notes
^The flight season refers to Belgium and The Netherlands. This may vary in other parts of the range.
References
^Seitz, A. Ed., 1914 Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde, Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 3: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen eulenartigen Nachtfalter, 1914
