Lunar underwing
Agrochola lunosa
Name means: “moon, after the dark crescent moon mark on its back wings”
The lunar underwing is an autumn moth that flies at night. Its front wings can be anything from pale buff to dark brown. Its pale back wings carry a dark mark shaped like a crescent moon.
Lives in
Western Europe, from Spain to Scandinavia, and Algeria, in grasslands, parks and gardens
Wingspan
3.2 to 3.8 cm (1.3 to 1.5 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat all parts of many kinds of grasses. Adults visit flowers.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 6 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 27 seconds
How big is Lunar underwing compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Lunar underwing about 14 km/h (8.7 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It flies at night from August to October and is drawn to lights and flowers.
2
Pale moths are more common than dark ones.
3
Its caterpillar is light brown with dark warts, and each wart has a short brush of hairs.
4
It spends the winter as a caterpillar.
you asked
Most asked questions about Lunar underwing
?Why is it called the lunar underwing?
Because its back wings have a dark mark shaped like a crescent moon.
?When can you see the lunar underwing?
At night in autumn, from August to October, often near lights.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Agrochola lunosa
- Named by
- Haworth, 1809
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Noctuidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Noctuidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Africa
Where the facts come from
- Lunar underwing (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by AJC1 from UK. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Atlas moth
Luna moth
Hummingbird hawk-moth
Domestic silk moth
Isabella tiger moth
Polyphemus moth
Pearl crescent
Nut weevil
New Zealand common tiger beetle
False potato beetle
Bronze carabid
Hawthorn shield bug.jpg){kind=link}