Mythimna pudorina (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)


Mythimna pudorina: Adult (e.l. Memmingen, Southern Germany, 2008) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Adult (e.l. Memmingen, Southern Germany, 2008) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Adult (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany near Hermaringen 2010) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Adult (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany near Hermaringen 2010) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Adult (e.l. eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany near Hermaringen 2010) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Half-grown larva (Upper Rhine near Dettenheim, October 2011) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Half-grown larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Half-grown larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva in penultimate instar (Memmingen 2008) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva in penultimate instar (Memmingen 2008) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva in penultimate instar (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva in penultimate instar (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva (e.l. Memmingen 2008) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva in penultimate instar (e.l. Upper Rhine 2011) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva (e.l. Memmingen 2008) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva (e.l. Memmingen 2008) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva (e.l. Memmingen 2008) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Larva (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany 2010) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Pupa (e.l. Memmingen 2008) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Pupa (e.l. Memmingen 2008) [S] Mythimna pudorina: Habitat in a wetland on the eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany (May 2011). Here fly also Mythimna straminea, M. impura and M. ferrago. [N] Mythimna pudorina: Habitat in a very small reed meadow on the eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany, south of Hermaringen (early June 2011) [N] Mythimna pudorina: Habitat in a calcareous fen near Memmingen without Phragmites. I observed there larvae in the autumn 2008  in Molinia tussocks. Here fly also Mythimna impura, Boloria eunomia, Zygaena trifolii and Maculinea alcon. July 2011. [N]

Host plants:
The caterpillar feeds on grasses. Particularly noteworthy are Molinia, Phalaris arundinacea and Deschampsia caespitosa.

Habitat:
Mythimna pudorina inhabits wetlands in the broader sense (moors, riparian zones, swampy to wet clearings and clearcuts). Often reeds are involved, although reeds should not be too important as larval host plant. I tapped larvae in the autumn from Molinia in a species-rich calcareous fen in the Allgaeu (southwest Bavaria), from Deschampsia and Calamagrostis on a damp forest clearing and the Swabian Alb and from Phalaris in a sedge reed.

Life cycle:
The caterpillars overwinter mostly in penultimate instar. They can be easily tapped in the autumn, about early October, from marsh grasses, often along with those of Mythimna impura. The caterpillars are fully-grown in May. The moths fly in a single generation from late May to early August.

Endangerment factors:
Mythimna pudorina is likely to have suffered heavily from the destruction of the wetlands in the last 100 years. But it is so adaptable that it occurs in most remaining wetland habitats. Overall, it is more local than Mythimna impura.

Remarks:
Mythimna pudorina is distributed across Central and Northern Europe and Central Asia to Japan.



Mythimna albipunctata | Mythimna anderreggii | Mythimna congrua | Mythimna conigera | Mythimna ferrago | Mythimna impura | Mythimna l-album | Mythimna languida | Mythimna litoralis | Mythimna pallens | Mythimna riparia | Mythimna scirpi | Mythimna straminea | Mythimna turca | Mythimna unipuncta | Mythimna velutina | Mythimna vitellina 
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