73.301 Leucania (Leucania) comma (Shoulder-striped Wainscot)
ws: 34-40mm (MBGBI9.1), fw: 16-19mm (Waring & Townsend); May-Jul; grasses (Poaceae); common mainly in fens and marshes in England, Wales and S.Scotland, local further north.
Synonym: Mythimna comma (MBGBI9.1, Waring & Townsend)
Synonym: Mythimna comma (MBGBI9.1, Waring & Townsend)
Leucania comma (Shoulder-striped Wainscot) §7
ID: Veins along the dorsal and distal margins of the discal cell marked in white, with the white marking continued along the vein to the wing base; and a long and prominent black basal streak lines its dorsal margin (the 'shoulder-stripe'). Forewing ground colour greyish-brown or dull straw; several interneural black streaks in apical third of forewing; pale costal stripe; hindwing brown.
M.impura (Smoky Wainscot) has similar markings but its basal streak is not as bold, the white-marked veins do not include the distal margin of the discal cell (she short bar of the 'L') and its hindwing is smoky grey.
M.l-album (L-album Wainscot) (15-16mm) has a distinctive white 'L' shape in the centre of the forewing - the white marking on the veins along the dorsal and distal margins of the discal cell is not continued to the wing base - so that the black median basal streak does not border a while marked vein. It also shows white lining of the veins leading from the 'L' mark to the termen; an oblique pale apical dash; contrastingly pale costal stripe; hindwing brownish-white with brown veins.
M.impura (Smoky Wainscot) has similar markings but its basal streak is not as bold, the white-marked veins do not include the distal margin of the discal cell (she short bar of the 'L') and its hindwing is smoky grey.
M.l-album (L-album Wainscot) (15-16mm) has a distinctive white 'L' shape in the centre of the forewing - the white marking on the veins along the dorsal and distal margins of the discal cell is not continued to the wing base - so that the black median basal streak does not border a while marked vein. It also shows white lining of the veins leading from the 'L' mark to the termen; an oblique pale apical dash; contrastingly pale costal stripe; hindwing brownish-white with brown veins.
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§1 Foulness, Essex; 13/06/2009; female; fw 15.9mm
§2 Foulness, Essex; 12/06/2010; male; fw 17.0mm §3 Foulness, Essex; 03/09/2011; female; fw 17.0mm §4 StMarys, Isles of Scilly; 08/06/2013; male §5 St Lawrence, Isle of Wight; 01/06/2014 §6 Winterton, Norfolk; 11/06/2015 §7 Foulness, Essex; 13/06/2015 §8 Foulness, Essex; 13/06/2015 §9 Foulness, Essex; 13/06/2015 All images © Chris Lewis |
§10 Winterton, Norfolk; 09/07/2015
§11 Foulness, Essex; 25/05/2019; male; fw 14.8mm §12 Thetford Forest, Suffolk; 11/06/2020; male; fw 14.5mm §13 Mortehoe, Devon; 09/07/2020; male; fw 14.9mm §14 Mortehoe, Devon; 09/07/2020; female; fw 15.4mm |
Page published 29/12/2016 (§1-10) | §11 added 13/02/2020 | §12 added 20/01/2021 | §13&14 added 29/01/2021
