Cloaked Minor (Mesoligia furuncula) | Species | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Taken at Aston, Oxon., on July 8th 2023. (© David Hastings) (1/250th sec at f11) DescriptionFamily: Noctuidae (ABH : 73.172) Wing span: 20 - 24mm More slender than other minors, with a narrower fore-wing. It is extremely variable. In the distinctive form bicoloria the basal half of the fore-wing is brown, contrasting sharply with the broad white trailing half, and thereby forming a cloak when the moth is at rest. It is well-distributed in England and Wales. It is widespread but mainly coastal in southern Scotland, probably a vagrant further north. It is coastal in Ireland. Typical habitat is open, well-drained grassland on light soils. There is one generation from July to early September. It over-winters as a larva. Larvae feed on grasses. It comes to light, sugar and flowers. Earliest UK sighting: 8th July ; Latest UK sighting: 20th August Sightings
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