Mythimna scirpi (Duponchel, 1836)

Host plants:
The caterpillar feeds on grasses. I found a caterpillar in Ticino in late August in a tuft of Festuca ovina agg.

Habitat:
Mythimna scirpi colonizes nutrient-poor grasslands, embankments and other grassy, extensively managed, mostly dry (but sometimes also humid) and warm habitats.

Life cycle:
In contrast to most other Mythimna species the pupa overwinters (as in M. aderreggii). The moths fly in a single or two generations from mid-April to August. The caterpillar lives of June to early October (maximum in August/early September) and is concealed during the day in the grass clumps.

Remarks:
Mythimna scirpi is distributed in parts of Europe (especially in the south), the Near East and probably north Africa. In Central Europe it has spread in the last 100 years.

While M. sicula and Mythimna scirpi have often been regarded as separate species in the past, they are nowadays united in M. sicula.