Athetis lepigone (Möschler, 1860)

Host plants:
The larvae are polyphagous in the herb layer and also feed on withered or dead plant parts. The young larvae even seem to prefer the latter. In China, the species is reported as a pest species in maize fields.

Habitat:
The expansive steppe species usually inhabits sites such as sandy grasslands, dry slopes, quarries, embankments, fallow land and similar sites. But it is also mentioned from swamps and shores. In S-Finland Athetis lepigone is reported from coastal areas. The larvae obviously need some humidity to be able to consume the dead plant parts.

Life cycle:
Athetis lepigone most often occurs in two or three generations between May and October. In S-Finland there is obviously only a single generation. The mature larva hibernates in the pupation cocoon.

Remarks:
Athetis lepigone has been originally recorded from S-Sweden, S-Finland and E-Austria eastwards across the steppe belt of Asia to China and Japan. Probably due to global warming it began to spread and is now already found e.g. in parts of Germany (especially Saxony, but also adjacent).

Literature:
Friedrich Kasy (1956): Über die Jugendstadien und Bionomie von Athetis lepigone Moeschl. (Lep., Agrot.). – Zeitschrift der Wiener Entomologischen Gesellschaft – 41: 289 - 297.

Friedrich Kasy (1957): Zur Frage der Polyphagie und Halophilie von Athetis lepigone Moeschl. – Zeitschrift der Wiener Entomologischen Gesellschaft – 42: 113 - 114.