73.286 Hadena (Anepia) perplexa (Tawny Shears/Pod Lover)
fw: 13-15mm (Waring & Townsend), ws: 27-36mm (MBGBI9); May-Jul, partially bivoltine in south Aug; bladder/white/sea campion/Nottingham catchfly (Silene vulgaris/latifolia/uniflora/nutans), rock sea-spurry (Spergularia rupicola);
ssp perplexa (Tawny Shears) common on dry calcareous soils inland and in many coastal habitats in England and wales;
ssp capsophila (Pod Lover) on rocky coastlines in Cornwall, Wales, Lancashire and SW.Scotland.
ssp perplexa (Tawny Shears) common on dry calcareous soils inland and in many coastal habitats in England and wales;
ssp capsophila (Pod Lover) on rocky coastlines in Cornwall, Wales, Lancashire and SW.Scotland.
ID: ssp perplexa is very variable; forewing ground colour ranges from whitish to dull brown; several black interneural arrowheads directed towards the wing base from the dorsal half of the subterminal line; dark outlined dart mark; oval and kidney marks usually dark-outlined and conspicuous; hindwing also varies and may be brownish-white, sandy, brownish or grey and usually has a darker margin. ssp capsophila has a brownish-grey or blackish forewing, dusted whitish.
Pale specimens of ssp perplexa resemble Agrotis ripae (Sand Dart) but this has longer (14-18mm), narrower forewings and a silky white hindwing without a dark margin.
Pale specimens of ssp perplexa resemble Agrotis ripae (Sand Dart) but this has longer (14-18mm), narrower forewings and a silky white hindwing without a dark margin.
§1 Snettisham, Norfolk; 05/07/2013; male; fw 14.0mm
§2 Snettisham, Norfolk; 24/07/2014; female; fw 14.2mm
§3 Snettisham, Norfolk; 24/07/2014
§4 Portland, Dorset; 22/06/2015; male; fw 13.4mm
§5 Portland, Dorset; 23/06/2015; female; fw 13.8mm
§6 Dungeness, Kent; 26/07/2017
§7 Dungeness, Kent; 13/07/2018; male; fw 13.7mm
§8 Dungeness, Kent; 10/06/2019; female; fw 14.7mm
§9 Dungeness, Kent; 10/06/2019; male
§10 Portland, Dorset; 29/08/2023
All images © Chris Lewis
§2 Snettisham, Norfolk; 24/07/2014; female; fw 14.2mm
§3 Snettisham, Norfolk; 24/07/2014
§4 Portland, Dorset; 22/06/2015; male; fw 13.4mm
§5 Portland, Dorset; 23/06/2015; female; fw 13.8mm
§6 Dungeness, Kent; 26/07/2017
§7 Dungeness, Kent; 13/07/2018; male; fw 13.7mm
§8 Dungeness, Kent; 10/06/2019; female; fw 14.7mm
§9 Dungeness, Kent; 10/06/2019; male
§10 Portland, Dorset; 29/08/2023
All images © Chris Lewis
Page published 24/10/2016 (§1-5) | §6 added 15/04/2018 | §7 added 25/05/2019 | §8&9 added 16/02/2020