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Nola aerugula, the scarce black arches, is a moth of the family Nolidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1793.

Nola aerugula
Adult
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Nolidae
Genus:	Nola
Species:	N. aerugula
Binomial name
Nola aerugula (Hübner, 1793)
Synonyms[1]
Phalaena aerugula Hübner, 1793 Pyralis centonalis Hübner, 1796 Roeselia centonana Hübner, [1825] Glaphyra atomosa Bremer, 1861 Celama centonalis (Hübner, 1796) Nola candidalis Staudinger, 1892 Nola impudica Christoph, 1893 Nola littoralis Paux, 1901

Subspecies

• Nola aerugula aerugula
• Nola aerugula holsatica Sauber, 1916 (Denmark, the Netherlands)

Many authors consider holsatica to be a full species.[2]

Distribution

This species can be found in most of Europe, east to eastern Asia and Japan.[3] [4] It is a rare migrant to Great Britain.

Habitat

This species lives on sandy areas and peatlands.

Description

The wingspan is 15–20 mm. These small drab moths show quite variable colors and patterns. The basic color may be gray, brownish or almost white, with brown transverse bands. There are also bright and dark specimens with high-contrast patterns. Forewings are almost triangular with a rounded basal area. The rear wings are gray or brownish. The body is cylindrical. The antennas are filamentous, about half as long as forewings.

Biology

Adults are on wing from June to August in one generation.[5] Males begin to fly just before sunset, and can sometimes be seen in swarms in search of females. The larvae mainly feed on Trifolium and Lotus corniculatus, but also Betula, Salix and Populus species.[5] The larvae of ssp. holsatica feed on Genista anglica and Genista pilosa. Larvae can be found from August to June.[6] They overwinter. Pupation takes place in a cocoon which can be found on the ground or attached to the host plant just above the ground.[5]

Gallery

• 
  Moth
• 
  Mounted specimen

References

External links

• Lepiforum e. V.
• Mazzei, Paolo; Morel, Daniel & Panfili, Raniero. "Nola aerugula (Hübner, [1793])". Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa. Retrieved August 6, 2020.

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