Lithophane leautieri, the Blair's shoulder-knot, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe. It originated from the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, but gradually moved north.

Blair's shoulder-knot
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Lithophane
Species:	L. leautieri
Binomial name
Lithophane leautieri (Boisduval, 1829)

Technical description and variation

The wingspan is 39–44 mm. Forewing pale grey, dusted with olive grey; lines strongly dentate, but much obscured, marked by short oblique costal streaks; upper stigmata ill-defined, but united at their base by a long black line; the reniform with fulvous in lower half; claviform elongate, black-edged, united by a short black streak with outer line; a well-marked black streak from base on submedian fold; submarginal line indicated only by black dentate marks preceding it, of which the two on the folds are longest; fringe mottled dark and light grey; hindwing pale brownish grey, darker towards termen; ab. sabinae Geyer is rather smaller, blue-grey, more distinctly marked, especially the median shade and submarginal teeth; reniform stigma with hardly any fulvous in it; the two black lines on submedian fold hardly visible.[1]

Biology

The moth flies from September to mid-November.

The larva is dark green, dorsal and subdorsal lines white, segmentally swollen and partially interrupted; spiracular line yellowish white. The larvae feed on various cypress species.[2]

Notes

1. ^ The flight season refers to Belgium and The Netherlands. This may vary in other parts of the range.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lithophane leautieri.

• Blair's shoulder-knot at UKmoths
• Funet Taxonomy
• Fauna Europaea
• Lepiforum.de
• Vlindernet.nl (in Dutch)