Lacanobia blenna (Hübner, [1824])

Host plants:
The larvae usually live on herbaceous halophilous plants like Atriplex, Salsola, Suaeda and related Amaranthaceae.

Habitat:
Lacanobia blenna often inhabits salt marshes, but also ruderal places along coasts. It is sometimes also found in inlandb marshes, e.g. in Hungary. The larval habitats are often hot and not too wet places, eg. on embankments (own observations in northern Greece near Thessaloniki). The larvae are often accompanied by those of Lacanobia oleracea, Anarta trifolii and sometimes also Anarta stigmosa.

Life cycle:
The moths occur in two or three generations (according to site) between April and early October. The larvae develop between May and November. I recorded many larvae (mostly in the final instar, but also some younger ones) near Thessaloniki on 29. October and 1. November 2023. The larvae sometimes also feed during daytime (e.g. in dense stands of the hostplants). Best detection method is shaking the plants and searching the surface of the soil for fallen larvae.

Remarks:
Lacanobia blenna occurs in halophilous areas of southern Europe, N-Africa and in parts of Asia. In Europe it is especially found along coasts. Besides the Mediterranean it is also known from the Black Sea and the Atlantic coast of France, up to Normandie. It occurs locally also in inland steppes of Hungary, southeast Europe and Asia.

The larvae are easily separated from the similar L. oleracea by their distinct spotting of the head capsule and by the devided lateral stripes: outsides pale yellow, center varying from bright yellow to orange.