Olivenebula subsericata (Herrich-Schäffer, 1861)

Host plants:
The larvae feed on Poaceae. The most important species is Dactylus glomerata in Greece.

Habitat:
Olivenebula subsericata usually depends on woody sites. It is found in sparse forests and grove-rich, mostly dry landscapes of all kinds up to about 1500m in Greece. The larvae usually develop in shady and semi-shady positioin edge vegetation near scrub, in embankments and road side verges where - in my experience (more than 50 larvae recorded) especially Dactylus is preferred by the larvae.

Life cycle:
The moths occur between late August and mid-November. As usual in these autumn species of hot and dry environments, flight time is the later the hotter, lower and drier the habitat. The eggs are dispersed in the larval habitat. The eggs wait for humid weather and than the larva hatches (up to 4-5 weeks after oviposition). I recorded the young larvae in northern Greece from mid- or late October. In early December they had already been half-grown up to the penultimate instar in the field. Thus they develop especially in autumn and are often already in the final instar at the turn of the year. They feed - interrupted from winter cold with frosts - until April. In early April I recorded only mature larvae in 1000m in northern Greece. The pupae rest in a solid cocoon in the soil and start development only after some coller nights in late summer.

Remarks:
Olivenebula subsericata occurs in SE-Europe (especially southern Balkans) and parts of W-Asia (Turkey, Syria, Palaestine, Jordan etc.). It is quite common in Greece and Cyprus, presumably also in S-Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria.

Literature:
Ronkay & Ronkay (2023): On the taxonomy of the Thalpophila Hübner, 1820 - Olivenebula Kishida and Yoshimoto 1977 generic complex (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Xyleninae).- Biologia Futura 74 (4): 413-431.