015 Autographa gamma (Silver Y)

73.015 Autographa gamma (Silver Y)

fw: 13-21mm; all year, but mostly May-Sep; many low-growing plants; common migrant which then breeds throughout GB.

Autographa gamma (Silver Y) §2

ID: Forewing marbled brown and grey with a conspicuous unbroken metallic silver ‘Y’ mark. Very variable in size and shade of forewing colour – this probably reflects larval growth conditions, moths from warmer climates being paler. In most other species with a ‘Y’-type mark the ‘Y’ is broken (more ‘n’ or ‘v’ and a dot than ‘Y’), but this is somewhat variable in most species. Autographa pulchrina/jota (Beautiful/Plain Golden Y) both have a more reddish forewing. A.pulchrina has a distinct gold-edged black ‘8’-shaped kidney mark. Syngrapha interrogationis (Scarce Silver Y) is blackish marbled silvery-grey. Ctenoplusia limbirena (Scar Bank Gem) has a characteristic small ellipse at the centre of the termen. Trichoplusia ni (Ni Moth) lacks the grey area along the termen usually shown by A.gamma. Cornutiplusia circumflexa (Essex Y) has a broad ‘U’ shaped (rather than ‘Y’) mark.

Variation
DIssection
Male genitalia
Female genitalia
Larva

§1 Foulness, Essex; 01/07/2007
§2 St Marys, Isles of Scilly; 15/10/2007
§3 St Marys, Isles of Scilly; 23/09/2012
§4 Westcliff-on-sea, Essex; 21/05/2018; male; fw 19.5mm
§5 Portland, Dorset; 11/09/2019; form nigricans
§6 St Marys, Isles of Scilly; 05/10/2020; female
§7 Westcliff-on-sea, Essex; 02/05/2024
§8 Foulness, Essex; 10/08/2024
§9 Foulness, Essex; 27/07/2024
Larva: Foulness, Essex; 26/08/2007
All images © Chris Lewis