# Lesser yellow underwing

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{{short description|Species of moth}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Noctua.comes.jpg
| taxon = Noctua comes
| authority = [Hübner](/source/Jacob_H%C3%BCbner), 1813
}}
The '''lesser yellow underwing''' (''Noctua comes'') is a [moth](/source/moth) of the family [Noctuidae](/source/Noctuidae).

==Distribution==
It is found in the [Palearctic realm](/source/Palearctic_realm) ([Europe](/source/Europe), [North Africa](/source/North_Africa), [Canary Islands](/source/Canary_Islands), [Middle East](/source/Middle_East), South [Russia](/source/Russia), [Caucasus](/source/Caucasus), [Transcaucasia](/source/Transcaucasia), [Turkey](/source/Turkey), [Iraq](/source/Iraq), [Iran](/source/Iran), [Afghanistan](/source/Afghanistan), north-west [India](/source/India), [Novosibirsk](/source/Novosibirsk), [Central Asia](/source/Central_Asia)). It was introduced into [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia) in about 1982 and has spread southward in the Pacific Northwest. It has recently been reported from [Ontario](/source/Ontario) (Crolla 2008). Full synonymy given in Lafontaine.<ref>Lafontaine, J.D. & Schmidt, C. (2010). Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico. ''ZooKeys'' '''40''': [http://pensoftonline.net/zookeys/index.php/journal/article/view/414/400 1-239] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703171547/http://pensoftonline.net/zookeys/index.php/journal/article/view/414/400 |date= 3 July 2010 }}</ref> It is a common species but not as abundant as its larger relative [large yellow underwing](/source/large_yellow_underwing) (''Noctua pronuba'').

thumb|right|Comparison 1, 2. lunar yellow underwing (''Noctua orbona'') 4, 5, 7, 8. lesser yellow underwing (''Noctua comes'') 3, 6. large yellow underwing (''Noctua pronuba'')

==Description==
{{Entomology glossary hatnote}}
This species generally has the appearance of a smaller ([wingspan](/source/wingspan) 38–48&nbsp;mm) version of the large yellow underwing ''[Noctua pronuba](/source/Noctua_pronuba)''. The forewings are equally variable in pattern and colour, from pale clay to reddish clay, light brown to almost black. The stigmata are dark and outlined with pale yellow. The crosslines are weak. The wavy line flows on to the front edge as a no more than dark brown (never black) stain, which is sometimes extended down the entire wavy line. The hindwings are orange-yellow with a broad black sub-terminal band and central discal lunule (usually absent in ''Noctua pronuba''). It is also similar to the lunar yellow underwing ''[Noctua orbona](/source/Noctua_orbona)''. In the overall impression a broad-winged species.<ref>Michael Fibiger: ''Noctuidae Europaeae'', Volume 2 Noctuinae II. Entomological Press, Sorø, 1993, ISBN 87-89430-02-6.</ref>
<ref>Walter Forster, Theodor A. Wohlfahrt: ''Die Schmetterlinge Mitteleuropas''. Band 4: Eulen. (Noctuidae). Franckh’sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-440-03752-5.</ref>

It flies at night from July to September {{ref|flight_season}} and is attracted to light and flowers such as [heather](/source/Calluna), [marram grass](/source/marram_grass), and [ragwort](/source/Senecio_jacobaea).

The [larva](/source/larva) is also very similar to that of ''Noctua pronuba'' – green or brown with black dashes along the back. Its feeding habits, however, are very different: this is not a "[cutworm](/source/cutworm)" but feeds on the foliage of a range of plants, trees, and [shrub](/source/shrub)s as well as [herbaceous](/source/herbaceous) plants (see list below). This species overwinters as a larva.

===Notes===
#{{Note|flight_season}}The flight season refers to the [British Isles](/source/British_Isles). This may vary in other parts of the range.

==Recorded food plants==
*''Betula'' – [birch](/source/birch)
*''[Calluna](/source/Calluna)'' – heather
*''[Cirsium](/source/Cirsium)'' – thistle
*''[Crataegus](/source/Crataegus)'' – [hawthorn](/source/Crataegus)
*''Digitalis'' – [foxglove](/source/foxglove)
*''Fragaria'' – [strawberry](/source/strawberry)
*''[Plantago](/source/Plantago)'' – plantain
*''Prunus'' – [blackthorn](/source/blackthorn)
*''[Rumex](/source/Rumex)'' – docks and sorrel
*''Salix'' – [willow](/source/willow)
See Robinson, G. S. et al.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/hostplants/ |title= Robinson, G.S., P.R. Ackery, I.J. Kitching, G.W. Beccaloni & L.M. Hernández. (2010). HOSTS – A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London.|date= 2023|doi= 10.5519/havt50xw|last1= Robinson|first1= Gaden S.|last2= Ackery|first2= Phillip R.|last3= Kitching|first3= Ian|last4= Beccaloni|first4= George W.|last5= Hernández|first5= Luis M.|publisher= Natural History Museum}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Noctuidae - Noctua comes-1.JPG
Noctua.comes.6968.jpg
Noctua.comes.6967.jpg
Britishentomologyvolume5Plate348.jpg
Noctua comes01.jpg
Noctua comes.01.jpg
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Chinery, Michael (1991). ''Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe''.
* Skinner, Bernard (1984). ''Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles.''

==External links==
*[http://www.lepiforum.de/cgi-bin/lepiwiki.pl?Noctua_Comes Lepiforum]
*[http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/noctuoidea/noctuidae/noctuinae/noctua#comes ''Noctua comes''], at funet.fi
*[https://fauna-eu.org Fauna Europaea]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q693618}}

Category:Noctua (moth)
Category:Moths described in 1813
Category:Moths of Africa
Category:Moths of Asia
Category:Moths of Europe
Category:Moths of Iceland
Category:Moths of the Middle East
Category:Moths of North America
Category:Taxa named by Jacob Hübner
Category:Palearctic Lepidoptera

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lesser yellow underwing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_yellow_underwing) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_yellow_underwing?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.